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CATECHISM OF 
CATHOLIC EDUCATION 



WHY 

do the Catholics of the United 
States maintain at their own 
expense a school system in 
which are instructed annually 

1,981,051 pupils? 



Answers to this and to hun- 
dreds of other pertinent ques- 
tions concerning the history, 
organization and administra- 
tion of the Catholic school 
system in the United States 
are found in this pamphlet. 




NATIONAL CATHOLIC WELFARE COUNCIL 

BUBEATT OF EDUCATION 

1312 Massachusetts Avenue, N. W. 

Washington, D. C. 



A CATECHISM OF 
CATHOLIC EDUCATION 



BY 

Reverend James H. Ryan, D.D., Ph.D. 

Executive Secretary, Department of Education, N. C. W. C. 




NATIONAL CATHOLIC WELFARE COUNCIL 
BUREAU OF EDUCATION 

Washington, D. C. 
1922 



■-R* 



THibtl ©betat: 



Imprimatur: 



die 27, Februarii, 1922. 



Ludovicus R. Stickney, 

Censor Deputatus. 



*i* Michael J. Curley, 
Archie pise opus Baltimorensis. 



Copyright, 1922, 
by 

National Catholic Welfare Council 



MAR 161922 

©CI.A654939 

The Paulist Presi, New York, N Y. 






TABLE OF CONTENTS 



CHAPTER I 

History of Catholic Education in the United 
States 1 

CHAPTER II 

Statistics of Catholic Education in the United 
States. — Catholic School Census of 1920 . . 9 

CHAPTER III 

Organization of the Catholic School System. — 
Administration 12 

CHAPTER IV 

Organization of the Catholic School System. — - 
Types of Schools 19 

CHAPTER V 
Teachers in the Catholic School System . . 27 

CHAPTER VI 
Training of Catholic School Teachers ... 30 

CHAPTER VII 
Curriculum of the Catholic School .... 36 

CHAPTER VIII 
Reasons for the Existence of Catholic Schools . 48 

iii 



iv Table of Contents 

CHAPTER IX 

Attitude of Catholics Towards the Public Schools 65 

CHAPTER X 
Americanism of the Catholic School . . .72 

CHAPTER XI 
Cost of Catholic Education ...... 81 

CHAPTER XII 
How You Can Help Catholic Education . . .88 



INTRODUCTION 



HPHE Catholic school is one of the greatest moral facts 
* in the United States. During 1920, 1,981,051 children 
were educated in Catholic schools. The Catholic school sys- 
tem is an institution of which every Catholic has good rea- 
sons to be proud. Its teachers are men and women well 
trained for their tasks. The quality of the work accom- 
plished is of an exceptionally high order. Its Americanism 
is beyond question. To inform further our Catholic people 
on the history, administration and organization of their 
schools is the aim of this Catechism of Catholic Education. 

This Catechism may be made the subject of study in the 
home and in the school. Clubs and organizations of men 
and women will find it a convenient manual for an elemen- 
tary study of Catholic education in all its phases. 

One of the primary functions of the Department of Edu- 
cation of the National Catholic Welfare Council is to spread 
information concerning Catholic education. The Depart- 
ment stands ready at all times to assist schools, clubs and 
organizations in the formation of groups for the study of 
what the Catholic school is and what it is accomplishing. 



CHAPTER I 
History of Catholic Education in the United States 

1. Q. When were Catholic schools first established in 
the United States? 

A. The first Catholic schools were established in what 
are now the States of Florida and New Mexico. Most of 
these schools were founded for the education of the In- 
dians. As early as 1606, however, a classical school had 
been established in St. Augustine, Florida. 

By 1629, four years before the foundation of the first 
school in the thirteen original Colonies, there were many 
elementary schools in New Mexico. Most of these schools 
were destroyed in 1680. The Spanish colonists were 
obliged by law to found schools in every village where they 
settled. 

There were also many pre-Revolutionary schools in 
Texas and California, due to the zeal of Jesuit and Fran- 
ciscan missionaries. These schools were largely industrial 
schools. 

2. Q. When and from what country did the first body of 
Catholic teachers come? 

A. The first group of elementary school teachers to come 
to the United States were ten Ursuline Sisters from France, 
who, in 1727, founded in New Orleans the first Catholic 
academy and day school tor girls in the New World. 

3. Q. Had Catholic schools been established in other 
places prior to 1776? 

1 



2 A Catechism of Catholic Education 

A. Before 1776 schools had been established in St. Louis, 
Detroit, Kaskaskia, as well as in what are now the States 
of Maine, Maryland, New York and Pennsylvania. 

4. Q. At what date was the first Catholic college estab- 
lished in the United States? 

A. The first Catholic college was opened in 1677 at New- 
town, Maryland, by the Society of Jesus. 

Georgetown College, the direct descendant of schools 
established at Newtown and Bohemia, dates from 1789. 

5. Q. What was the number of Catholic schools in the 
United States prior to 1776? 

A. Upwards of 70 Catholic schools existed within the 
present confines of the United States. Considering the so- 
cial and economic conditions prevailing amongst the small 
number of Catholics in pre-Revolutionary days, this is 
quite remarkable. The total Catholic population in 1789 
amounted only to 35,000. 

6. Q. Were the Colonial schools State or religious 
schools? 

A. All the schools in the Colonies, whether established 
by Catholics or Protestants, were religious schools. There 
were no State schools, supported solely by public taxation. 

7. Q. What was the necessary consequence of this fact? 

A. The fact that all religious denominations maintained 
schools resulted in Catholic settlers organizing and develop- 
ing a school system of their own. 

8. Q. What was the general character of the Catholic 
schools of the Colonial period? 

A. Catholic Colonial schools were modeled either after 
Continental schools, especially French and German, or af- 
ter the system of education established by the Jesuits. 

The curriculum was elementary, consisting mainly of 
reading, writing and arithmetic. 



History of Catholic Education 3 

9. Q. Were the Catholic schools of Colonial days merely 
separate schools or did they form a system? 

A. The elements of a system existed even in Colonial 
days, as all the schools in the English Colonies were under 
the direction of the Jesuits. 

10. Q. What principal factors determined the growth of 
Catholic schools in the United States after the year 1800? 

A. The most important factors were : 

(1) The creation and introduction of religious teaching 
communities into the country; 

(2) The expansion of the Church ; 

(3) Financial assistance from Europe. 

11. Q. How did the creation and introduction of reli- 
gious teaching communities assist in the development of 
Catholic education? 

A. By supplying the demand for teachers of the nu- 
merous schools, which grew up so rapidly all over the 
country. 

The Poor Clares in 1799 founded a school at George- 
town. This school was afterwards continued by the Sis- 
ters of the Visitation. The community of the Visitation 
Sisters, together with the Sisters of Charity (the first 
American religious teaching order), the Sisters of Loretto, 
the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth and the Sisters of St. 
Dominic grew amazingly, and in the period between 1800- 
50 supplied the great majority of teachers for our Catholic 
schools. 

As each one of these orders maintained a training school 
for its teachers, the quality of the work accomplished by 
them in the numerous academies and parish schools under 
their direction was of a very high order. 

12. Q. How did the growth of the Church affect the de- 
velopment of Catholic education? 

A. The expansion of the Church, following on the divi- 



4 A Catechism of Catholic Education 

sion of the country into dioceses and archdioceses, created 
new demands for educational institutions. In 1829, a prov- 
incial council held in Baltimore ordered the establishment 
of Catholic schools "wherever possible." The decree of 
the Council put the seal of ecclesiastical approval on the 
rapidly developing Catholic school system. 

13. Q. How did financial assistance from Europe aid in 
the development of Catholic education? 

A. Financial assistance from Europe, especially from 
France and Austria, greatly aided the struggling Catholic 
schools in their development. Most of the early Catholic 
settlers were poor, and, unassisted, they could not have 
carried the financial burden of building schools and 
churches. The numerous contributions which came from 
Europe supplemented gifts of the laity in this country and 
made possible the erection of many schools which, other- 
wise, could not have been built. 

14. Q. What factors influenced the development of the 
Catholic school system after 1850? 

A. (a) One of the principal factors was the controversy 
over the appropriation of State funds to sectarian schools. 
Bishop John Hughes of New York presented the Catholic 
plea for a just share of the public school fund. His plea 
was rejected. It became evident to all that in the future 
Catholics would have to maintain their schools without 
financial assistance from the State. 

At this time the public school system, tax-supported, be- 
came a reality. Most of the Protestant denominations that 
conducted schools fought vigorously the principle of pub- 
lic education. They were defeated. The public schools 
of that period were practically Protestant schools and bit- 
terly anti-Catholic. Most of the teachers were Protestants. 
The Protestant Bible was read in the public school. A 
spirit of antagonism to Catholic principles remained a char- 



History of Catholic Education 5 

acteristic of the public school sjfstem in many places until 
quite recently. Catholics could^Sf in conscience, there- 
fore, send their children to such schools; the only alterna- 
tive was to establish schools of their own and to per- 
petuate those which already existed. 

(b) The great number of immigrants to the United 
States at this time, especially from Ireland and Germany, 
doubled the Catholic population and made necessary a wide 
extension of the Catholic school system. Religious teach- 
ers followed in the wake of the immigrants, and through 
the zeal and sacrifice of both, the secure foundations of 
the present-day Catholic school system were laid. Not only 
were parish schools erected alongside of our churches, 
but high schools, seminaries and colleges grew in numbers. 

(c) Ecclesiastical legislation made secure the position of 
fijge Catholic school as a necessary adjunct to the Church. 

Church authorities ordered the establishment of Catholic 
schools "in every place," and the Third Council of Balti- 
more/1884) enacted school legislation which has, since that 
timd^foeen the basis and the norm of the development of 
the Catholic school system. 

15. Q. What has been the development of Catholic 
schools from 1870 to the present day? 

A. The Civil War retarded the growth of Catholic 
schools for a^fcime. After 1875, however, they increased in 
number and TH^ttendance with surprising rapidity. The 
growth of Catholic education since 1875 has been a normal, 
steady one as the following tables show : 



A Catechism of Catholic Education 



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•References 

Burns, Principles, Orig^and Establishment of the Catholic School 
System in the United States, Benziger, N. Y., 1912. L 

Burns, Growth and Development of the Catholic (School System in 
the United States, Benziger, N. Y., 1912. 

Cubberley, Public Education in the United States, Houghton Mif- 
flin & Company, Boston, 1919. 

McCormick, History of Education, Catholic Education Press, 
Washington, 1912. 

Pace, "Catholic Education," in Catholic Encyclopedia, Encyclopedia 
Press, N. Y., 1910. 

Official Catholic Directory for 1880, 1885, 1890, 1895, 1900, 1905, 
1910 and 1915. 

Ryan, Directory of Catholic Colleges and Schools, Bureau of Edu- 
cation, N. C. W. C, Washington, 1921. 



* 

CHAPTER II 

Statistics of Catholic Education in the United States 
catholic school census, 1920 

1. Q. How many Catholic schools are there in the United 
States? 

A. 8,706, including all kinds. 

2. Q. How many teachers are there in the Catholic 
schools of the United States? 

A. 54,265 teachers are engaged in the 8,706 Catholic 
schools. 

3. Q. Are all the teachers in Catholic schools priests or 
members of religious orders? 

A. No. 1,929 lay professors teach in Catholic, univer- 
sities and colleges ; 953 in .Catholic high schools, and 2,989 
in Catholic elementary schools. 

4. Q. How many students attend the Catholic schools? 
A. 1,981,051. 

5. Q. How many Catholic elementary schools are there 
in the United States? 

A. There are 6,551, including 358 institutional schools. 
41,581 teachers are employed in these schools. 1,795,673 
boys and girls attend the Catholic elementary schools. . 

6. Q. How many Catholic high schools are there? 

A. There are 1,552 Catholic high schools, 7,924 high 
school teachers, and 129,838 high school students. 

9 



10 A Catechism of Catholic Education 

7. Q. How many religious novitiates and normal train- 
ing schools are there? 

A. 309, with an attendance of 10,544. 

8. Q. How many Catholic colleges are there? 

A. There are 114 Catholic colleges, 62 for men and 52 
for women. They employ 1,697 professors and have an 
attendance of 13,996. Of this number, 8,343 are men and 
5,653 women. 

9. Q. How many seminaries are there? 

A. 164 seminaries with 1,063 professors and 11,198 stu- 
dents for the priesthood. 

10. Q. How many Catholic universities are there in the 
United States? 

A. There are 16 Catholic universities with a teaching 
staff of 2,000 and an attendance of 19,803. 



NATIONAL SUMMARY OF CATHOLIC SCHOOL 
STATISTICS 



Schools Number Professors Teachers Students 

Universities 16 2,000 19,802 

Colleges 114 1,697 13,996 

Seminaries 164 1,063 11,198 

High Schools 1,552 7,924 129,838 

Normal Training Schools 309 * * 10,544 

Elementary Schools .... 6,551 41,581 1,795,673 

Total 8,706 4,760 49,505 1,981,051 



The above statistics are based on returns made to inquiries sent out 
by the Department of Education, N. C. W. C, and published in the 
Directory of Catholic Colleges and Schools. 

•No Exact Data Available. 

References 

Ryan, Directory of Catholic Colleges and Schools, Bureau of Edu- 
cation, N. C. W, G, Washington, 1921. 



Statistics of Catholic Education 



11 




CHAPTER III 
Organization of the Catholic School System 

administration 

1. Q. How are Catholic schools organized? 

A. Catholic schools are organized on the diocesan plan, 
each diocese forming a separate unit. In each diocese the 
bishop is ex officio head of school administration. 

2. Q. If the bishop is the head of the diocesan school 
system, is not then each diocese independent in the adminis- 
tration of its educational affairs? 

A. Yes ; each diocese like each State is autonomous in 
education, formulating its own laws, devising its own pol- 
icies, and administering its own district without external 
interference. 

3. Q. Does the bishop personally administer the school 
system? 

A. Under the bishop as chairman there is usually a 
school board, commission or committee which establishes 
standards, inspects schools, approves text-books — in a 
word, performs all the functions of a State Department of 
Education. Practically all matters pertaining to elemen- 
tary education in a diocese are under the jurisdiction of 
this board. 

4. Q. Has the diocesan school system an official agent? 

A. Yes ; the official agent of the diocesan school system 
is the diocesan superintendent or supervisor of schools, who 

12 



Organization of Catholic School System 13 

is generally a member of the diocesan board of education 
and is appointed by the bishop. 

5. Q. What are the duties of a diocesan superintendent 
or supervisor of schools? 

A. The diocesan superintendent represents the bishop in 
the government of the schools. He acts also as the exec- 
utive officer of the school board in carrying out programs 
and policies for the development of the schools under his 
jurisdiction. He therefore inspects schools, holds exam- 
inations for pupils, makes provision for the professional 
growth of the teaching force and organizes the educational 
resources of his diocese. 

The diocesan superintendent publishes a yearly report, 
giving a complete statistical account of the schools over 
which he has charge and submits recommendations for the 
improvement of the same. The diocesan superintendent 
of 'schools occupies much the same position as a State 
Superintendent of Public Instruction in the public school 
system. 

6. Q. What are community supervisors? 

A. Community supervisors or inspectors are members 
of religious teaching orders, who inquire into the work of 
the teachers belonging to their own order and report on it, 
to their immediate religious superiors. They are not dio- 
cesan school officials and therefore have no official status. 
In some dioceses, however, they are appointed by the 
bishop. 

7. Q. What are the reasons for the existence of com- 
munity supervisors? 

A. Since the majority of teachers in our Catholic schools 
are members of religious communities, it is to the interest 
of each community to inspect the work of its own members. 
The supervision which these community supervisors exert 
over their own teachers results in inestimable good to the 



A Catechism of Catholic Education 



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G«neraZ 


1. Bureau of 
Information 
and Statistics. 

2. Lectures 

and addresses. 

3. Annual Re- 
port and 

Articles for 
Press. 


e 
c 
•2 
"3 

3 


1. Study of 
Educational 
Legislation. 

2. Contact with 
Public School 
Officials. 

3. Lectures at 
Novitiate Nor- 
mal Schools 
and Diocesan 

Seminary. 


Communities 

Principals and 
Teachers 


1. Conferences 
for Principals 
and Teachers. 

2. Diocesan 
Institute and 
professional 
courses for 
teachers. 


Religious i. 
Board of Community 
Supervisors 


1. Advisory in 
matters of 
policy. 

2. Supervision of 
teaching 
force. 


© 
o 


A. Visitation of Acad- 
emies 
Parish Schools 
Institutional Schools 

2. Uniform Regula- 
tions 
Curriculum 

Tests 

Reports 

Annual Monthly 



Organization of Catholic School System 15 

teachers, the schools, and the diocese. These supervisors 
are also of great assistance to the diocesan superintendent 
of schools, helping- him to keep in close contact with the 
different teaching communities and offering him a splen- 
did means of putting into effect the regulations and recom- 
mendations of the diocesan school board. 

8. Q. What are school principals? 

A. A school principal is the head of a single elementary 
or parish school. He is usually a member of the religious 
order which supplies the teaching staff of the school. 

9. Q. What are the duties of a school principal? 

A. He has immediate and personal charge of the school 
and works under the direction of the pastor. Both the 
work of the principal and that of the teachers under his 
care are supervised by the diocesan superintendent of 
schools. 

10. Q. How are institutional schools administered? 

A. Institutional schools are directed by the Diocesan 
Supervisor of Charities. Many progressive educators, 
however, are of the opinion that these schools should be- 
come an integral part of the Diocesan School System, and 
that the educational training given in the same should be 
under the supervision of the Diocesan Superintendent of 
Schools. 

11. Q. How are Catholic high schools organized? 

A. (a) In some dioceses a high school board similar in 
make-up to the diocesan school board has control of all 
high schools. The active agent of this board is the dio- 
cesan superintendent of high schools. This plan has 
worked well wherever it has been tried out. Many dio- 
ceses are preparing to adopt it. 

(b) In dioceses where there is no high school board, the 
high schools are administered either by principals ap- 
pointed by the bishop (if the institution is diocesan) or by 



16 A Catechism of Catholic Education 

principals selected by the religious community which con- 
trols the school. 

12. Q. How are colleges and universities administered? 

A. By a president and board of trustees. 

If the college or university is a diocesan institution, the 
bishop is ordinarily chancellor of the same or chairman of 
its board of directors. If the college or university, how- 
ever, is maintained by a religious order or community, its 
administrative and educational policies are immediately 
under the direction of the religious superior or provincial 
of the order concerned. 

Seminaries for the education of candidates for the dio- 
cesan priesthood are usually under the supervision of the 
bishop in whose diocese they are located. Seminaries for 
religious are administered in much the same way as col- 
leges and universities. 

13. Q. What are some features of Catholic school or- 
ganization? 

A. The following features are most noteworthy: Free- 
dom, cohesion, and unity. 

(a) There is no superdiocesan or supernational organiza- 
tion which dictates to the Catholic schools what they must 
do. Curriculum,, training of teachers, and standards of 
instruction are developed and maintained as the needs of 
each diocese require. Educational theories and fads can- 
not be imposed on a diocesan system from without. The 
diocese, however, is free to accept any tried methods of in- 
struction or administration which in its judgment meets its 
own needs. Home rule in education is one of the significant 
characteristics of the diocesan school system. 

(b) As our schools are under episcopal jurisdiction, 
there is generally present the utmost cohesion. They are 
all working with the same definite purpose ; therefore, in 
spite of the number of different religious communities 



Organization of Catholic School System 17 

often employed in a diocese, praiseworthy uniformity gen- 
erally results. 

(c) Catholic schools are united. They are a unit on the 
necessity of religious education; on obedience to episcopal 
authority ; on the fundamentals of sound educational prin- 
ciples and methods. Although a great deal of freedom in 
details is allowed, the acceptances by our schools of the 
same principles explains why the underlying unity of Cath- 
olic education is maintained in spite of diocesan difference 
in organization and administration. 

14. Q. Is there an official national Catholic school or- 
ganization? 

A. Not in the strict sense of the word. Each diocesan 
organization controls its own schools. There is, however, 
a Department of Education of the National Catholic Wel- 
fare Council, under an episcopal chairman, which stands to 
our schools much in the same relation as the Federal Bu- 
reau of Education does to the schools of the United States. 

15. Q. What are the functions of the Department of 
Education of the N. C. W. C? 

A. Its functions are advisory and directive. 
It acts— 

1. As a clearing house of information concerning Cath- 
olic education and Catholic education agencies — for Cath- 
olic educators and students, and for the general public. 

2. As an advisory agency to assist Catholic educational 
systems and institutions in their development. 

3. As a connecting agency between Catholic education 
activities and Government education agencies. 

4. As an active organization to safeguard the interests 
of Catholic education. 

16. Q. What is the Catholic Educational Association? 
A. It is a voluntary organization of Catholic educators, 

who meet yearly to discuss educational problems. The 



18 A Catechism of Catholic Education 

Catholic Educational Association has no administrative 
authority over the Catholic schools of the United States. 
The Catholic Educational Association is divided into Col- 
lege, Seminary and Parish School Departments, and into 
many other sections. It publishes the Proceedings of the 
Annual Meeting and pamphlets on educational subjects. 

References 

Dunney, The Parish School, Macmillan, N. Y., 1921. 

Burns, Growth and Development of the Catholic School System in 
the United States, Benziger, N. Y., 1912. 

Burns, Principles, Origin and Establishment of the Catholic School 
System in the United States, Benziger, N. Y., 1912. 

Burns, Catholic Education: A Study of Conditions, Longmans, 
Green & Company, N. Y., 1917. 

Waldron, "The Organization of a Diocesan School System" (Pro- 
ceedings C. E. A., Vol XL). 

Gibbons, "School Supervision — Its Necessity, Aims, and Methods" 
(Proceedings C. E. A., Vol. II.). 

Johnson, "Diocesan School Superintendent," Catholic Education 
Review, Washington, 1921. 



CHAPTER IV 

Organization of the Catholic School System 

types of schools 

1. Q. What are the different types of Catholic schools in 
the United States? 

A. The Catholic schools of the United States follow the 
same lines of organization as the State-controlled schools. 
They may be divided into three main classes : Elementary 
schools, high schools, and colleges. 

2. Q. What is an elementary school? 

A. Parish schools are ordinarily elementary schools con- 
sisting of eight grades. 

3. Q. What subjects are taught in parish schools? 

A. The curriculum of the parish school has practically 
the same content as that of the public elementary school- 
reading, writing, grammar, spelling, arithmetic, history and 
geography — to which must be added religion. In addition 
to these subjects some schools embrace others of an ele- 
mentary character, such as those touching on literature, art, 
and science. 

In some dioceses, especially the larger ones, kindergar- 
tens have been added to many of the parish schools. . 

4. Q. What are institutional schools? 

A. By institutional schools we mean orphan asylums, in- 
dustrial schools, schools for the blind, deaf and dumb asy- 
lums, schools for delinquents, and schools for subnormal 
children. The institutional type of school is fundamentally 
elementary in character. The standard elementary curric- 
ulum in certain cases is revised to meet the subnormalities 
of the children who attend such schools. Institutional 
schools are generally boarding schools. 

19 



20 A Catechism of Catholic Education 

5. Q. What are rural schools? 

A. Rural schools are country schools, as distinguished 
from urban or city schools. The curriculum is the same as 
that of the city school. 

6. Q. What school follows the elementary or parish 
school? 

A. The high school. After a child has successfully com- 
pleted eight grades in the elementary or parish school, he 
is admitted to the high school. A high school may be a 
parish high school, intended chiefly for the children of a 
certain parish, or a central high school, intended for the 
children of a district or city. There is a tendency in the 
direction of making high schools central. 

7. Q. What is a high school? 

A. A high school is an institution which offers a four 
years' course, following upon eight years of elementary 
school training. The high school is often called a sec- 
ondary school to distinguish it from the primary or ele- 
mentary school. 

8. Q. What is a junior high school? 

A. The junior high school is an institution which, in ad- 
dition to the work of the seventh and eighth grades, offers 
two years of high school training. There are very few 
junior high schools in the Catholic school system. 

9. Q. What are the purposes of a high school? 

A. A high school has various purposes : 

It offers a course of cultural and informational value, 
sufficient in itself to prepare boys and girls for an intel- 
ligent participation in the work and life of the community. 

It trains them by practical and vocational courses for 
mechanical trades or for business occupations. 

Another purpose is to prepare a student for college or 
for the higher professional schools. 



Organization of Catholic School System 21 

10. Q. Are Catholic high schools co-educational? 

A. No. Catholic high schools are not co-educational ex- 
cept when they are parish high schools. Catholic high 
schools are more or less sharply defined into high schools 
for boys and high schools for girls. Girls' high schools 
are generally known as academies. 

11. Q. In what way has this division into boys' and girls' 
high schools affected the Catholic high school? 

A. This traditional division has had its effect on the con- 
tent of the curriculum of each type of high school up to 
very recent times. Today, however, the general tendency 
is to offer the same courses to boys and girls. 

Most Catholic high schools, both for boys and girls, 
in addition to the college preparatory courses, offer instruc- 
tion in commerce, secretarial work, and, in some cases, in 
vocational and industrial pursuits. 

12. Q. What does it mean for a high school to be ac- 
credited or affiliated? 

A. For a high school to be accredited means that its 
"credits" are accepted at their full value by a recognized 
college, State university, or educational association. 

Affiliation means practically the same thing. It indi- 
cates a closer bond of union between the high school and 
the college with which the affiliation takes place. The af- 
filiated school becomes closely connected with the central 
organization or parent institution. 

13. Q. Are many Catholic high schools accredited? 

A. The great majority of Catholic high schools are ac- 
credited to the various State universities, or are affiliated 
with the Catholic University of America. 

14. Q. What is the effect on the high school of being ac- 
credited to an institution of higher learning? 

A. Accrediting insures uniformity in curriculum, as well 
as in methods of teaching and in results. 



22 A Catechism of Catholic Education 

15. Q. What is a college? 

A. A college is an institution with a four years' course, 
following the four years of high school. 

16. Q. What is a junior college? 

A. A junior college is an institution which offers but two 
years' collegiate work. 

The junior college has not found much favor in Catholic 
educational circles. It commends itself to those who see 
in it a means of giving at least two years of Catholic col- 
lege training to students who intend to enter professional 
schools. 

17. Q. Who are admitted to college? 

A. For entrance to college, a student must possess a 
diploma or certificate from an accredited high school. On 
graduation from college, the student receives the degree 
of Bachelor of Arts or of Science, B.A. or B.S. 

18. Q. Are Catholic colleges co-educational? 

A. As in the high school, there is little or no co-educa- 
tion in Catholic colleges. Catholic colleges are divided into 
colleges for men and colleges for women. 

19. Q. What subjects are taught in Catholic colleges? 
A. The curriculum of the Catholic college centres about 

the liberal arts. In most colleges, however, students are 
permitted a wide range of "election;" that is, they are al- 
lowed, after certain prescribed courses, to select optional 
subjects for study. 

20. Q. Are Catholic colleges standard colleges? 

A. Yes ; most of our Catholic colleges are standard 
colleges. 

21. Q. What is a standard college? 

A. A standard college is one which follows certain defi- 
nite rules laid down by educational organizations as nec- 
essary for the satisfactory accomplishment of work of col- 
legiate grade. 



Organization of Catholic School System 



23 



22. Q. What are these educational organizations? 

A. The organizations which promulgate these rules are 
voluntary associations of colleges, or, in some cases, State 
universities. The Catholic Educational Association, for 
example, has a set of standards and a list of standard 
colleges. 

This list includes 67 Catholic colleges which have asked 
for the recognition of the Catholic Educational Association 
and have been accepted. 

23. Q. What colleges are recognized by the Catholic 
Educational Association as standard? 

A. The following colleges are listed as standard (list of 
1921): 



FOR MEN: 

Boston College, Boston, Mass. 
Campion College, Prairie du Chien, 

Wis. 
Canisius College, Buffalo, N. Y. 
Catholic University of America, 

Washington, D. C. 
College of St. Francis Xavier, 

Brooklyn, N. Y. 
College of St. Thomas, St. Paul, 

Minn. 
Columbia College, Dubuque, Iowa. 
Creighton University, Omaha, Neb. 
De Paul University, Chicago, 111. 
Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pa. 
Fordham University, Fordham, N. Y. 
Georgetown University, Washington, 

D. C. 
Gonzaga University, Spokane, Wash- 
ington. 
Holy Cross College, Worcester, 

Mass. 
Jefferson College, Convent, La. 
Loyola College, Baltimore, Md. 
Loyola University, Chicago, Illinois. 
Loyola University, New Orleans, 

La. 
Manhattan College, New York 

City. 
Marquette University, Milwaukee, 

Wis. 



Mt. St. Mary College, Emmitsburg, 

Md. 
Spring Hill College, Spring Hill, 

Ala. 
St. Ambrose College, Davenport, 

Iowa. 
St. Benedict College, Atchison, 

Kansas. 
St. Bonaventure College, Allegany, 

N. Y. 
St. Francis' College, Loretto, Pa. 
*St. Francis' College, Brooklyn, 

N. Y. 
St. Ignatius' College, Cleveland, 

Ohio. 
St. Ignatius' College, San Fran- 
cisco, Cal. 
St. John College, Brooklyn, N. Y. 
St. John University, Collegeville, 

Minn. 
St. John University, Toledo, Ohio. 
St. Joseph College, Philadelphia, 

Pa. 
St. Louis University, St. Louis, 

Mo. 
St. Mary College, St. Marys, Kan- 
sas. 
St. Mary College, Oakland, Cal. 
St. Viator College, Bourbonnais, 

111. 



* Admitted June, 1921. 



24 



A Catechism of Catholic Education 



St. Xavier College, Cincinnati, 

Ohio. 
University of Dayton, Dayton, 

Ohio. 
University of Detroit, Detroit, 

Mich. 
University of Notre Dame, Notre 

Dame, Ind. 
University of Santa Clara, Santa 

Clara, Cal. 
Villanova College, Villanova, Pa. 

FOR WOMEN: 

College of St. Catherine, St. Paul, 

Minn. 
College of St. Elizabeth, Convent, 

N. J. 
College of Mt. St. Yincent, New 

York City. 
College of New Rochelle, New Ro- 

chelle, N. Y. 
College of Notre Dame of Mary- 
land, Baltimore, Md. 
College of St. Teresa, Winona, 

Minn. 
College and Academy of Sacred 

Heart, Cincinnati, Ohio. 
D'Youville College and Holy Angels 

Academy, Buffalo, N. Y. 



College, Webster Grove, 
Joseph College, Dubuque, 
An- 



*Our Lady of the Lake College, San 

Antonio, Texas. 
Loretto Heights College, Loretto, 

Colo. 
Loretto 

Mo. 
Mt. St. 

Iowa. 
*lncarnate Word College, San 

tonio, Texas. 
St. Clara College and Academy, 

Sinsinawa, Wia. 
*St. Francis Xavier College, Chi- 
cago, 111. 
*St. Joseph College, Emmitsburg, 

Md. 
St. Mary College and Academy, 

Monroe, Mich. 
St. Mary College, Notre Dame, Ind. 
St. Mary College, Portland, Oregon. 
*St. Mary College, Prairie du 

Chien, Wis. 
St. Mary-of-the-Woods College, St. 

Mary-of-the-Woods, Ind. 
*Seton Hill College, Greensburg, 

Pa. 
Trinity College, Washington, D. 0. 
Mt. St. Mary College, North Plain- 
field, N. J. 



24. Q. What must a college do to be recognized as 
standard? 

A. For a college to be accepted as standard, it must re- 
quire not less than fifteen "units" for entrance; one hun- 
dred and twenty semester hours for graduation ; must have 
eight distinct departments of study; its faculty must con- 
sist of at least eight full-time professors, with definite 
academic qualifications ; its library and scientific equip- 
ment must be of a certain kind and of a fixed value. Some 
standardizing agencies require more than the above and 
some require less. In the main, however, any college 
which fulfills the above conditions would be recognized as 
standard. 



* Admitted June, 1921. 



Organization of Catholic School System 25 

25. Q. What is a seminary? 

A. A seminary is an institution for the education of can- 
didates for the priesthood. 

Seminaries are of two kinds, preparatory and theologi- 
cal. The preparatory seminary is equivalent to the junior 
college. The theological seminary offers a two years' 
course in philosophy followed by four years of theology, 
and is therefore the equivalent of the professional school 
of a university. 

26. Q. What is a university? 

A. The term designates an institution which, besides a 
college, maintains also professional schools and confers ad- 
vanced degrees, as M.A., Ph.D., D.D. The university grew 
out of the college of liberal arts in the Middle Ages. It is 
the product of Catholic science and faith. 

27. Q. What subjects are taught in a university? 

A. The American university has developed a great num- 
ber of courses in the liberal arts and professional schools, 
the most important of which are schools of theology, of 
medicine, law, engineering, pharmacy, dentistry, commerce 
and finance. Catholic universities have taken part in this 
development and present much the same character as State 
or non-sectarian universities. 

28. Q. How many Catholic universities are there? 

A. There are 16 Catholic institutions in the United 
States offering work of university grade. 

References 

Burns, Catholic Education, Longmans, Green & Company, N. Y., 
1917. 

Newman, Idea of a University, Longmans, Green & Company, N. 
Y., 1910. 

Newman, "Rise and Progress of Universities," Vol. III., Historical 
Sketches, Longmans, Green & Company, N. Y., 1910. 

Ryan, Directory of Catholic Colleges and Schools, Bureau of Edu- 
cation, N. C. W. C, Washington, 1921. 

Waldron, "The Organization of a Diocesan School System" (Pro- 
ceedings C. E. A., Vol XL). 



26 



A Catechism of Catholic Education 



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CHAPTER V 
Teachers in the Catholic School System 

1. Q. Who teach in the Catholic schools? 

A. Most of the teachers in Catholic schools are mem- 
bers of religious orders or congregations. There is, how- 
ever, a great numlber of lay teachers. 

2. Q. Are lay teachers welcomed in the Catholic school 
system? 

A. The Department of Education, N. C. W. C, passed 
the following resolution with reference to lay teachers: 
"That laymen be encouraged to take a larger share in our 
educational work, especially by participation as teachers." 

3. Q. Why are most of the teachers in Catholic schools 
members of religious communities? 

A. The diffusion of knowledge, especially religious 
knowledge, has always been regarded as one of the prime 
functions of the Church of Christ, a continuation of the 
work of the Apostles themselves, to whom Christ said: 
"Go, and teach all nations." For that reason she has set 
aside, and even consecrated, the lives of the men and women 
whom she selects as teachers. 

4. Q. Are there many men teaching in our Catholic 
schools of religious congregations? 

A. Yes, there are about forty religious orders of men 
whose members teach in the Catholic schools of the United 
States. Many of the secular clergy also occupy positions 
as administrators and teachers in our schools. 

5. Q. Are all these men priests? 

A. No, a great number of men teachers belong to reli- 
gious brotherhoods. 

27 



28 A Catechism of Catholic Education 

6. Q. What are religious brotherhoods? 

A. Religious brotherhoods are congregations of men 
bound together by vows. They do not take Holy Orders. 

7. Q. What advantages are there in having teachers who 
are members of religious communities? 

A. There are many advantages. In the first place, reli- 
gious teachers labor from the highest motive, namely, the 
pure love of God. They receive no personal compensation 
for their work. They teach because they see in teaching 
the best service which they can perform for the kingdom 
of God. The training of children in the knowledge and 
love of God is their life's object. This holy motive is 
consecrated by vows taken to God Himself. 

Secondly, as a member of a religious community one 
can consecrate one's whole life to teaching, putting aside 
any idea of changing or bettering one's position in this 
world. Neither does a religious teacher worry about his 
daily needs, as the community provides for them,. The 
consequence is concentration on the purposes of his pro- 
fession with little or no outside distraction. 

Thirdly, as a member of a religious community, the reli- 
gious teacher is urged and even required constantly to per- 
fect himself in his chosen profession. For the religious, 
the period of intellectual training never comes to an end. 
The religious life is a daily development in character- 
building. The formal study, which he is obliged by rule 
to indulge in, 'keeps him constantly abreast of the best edu- 
cational thought and principles. 

Fourthly, the religious teacher, because of his training 
and his vows, is less individualistic than the teacher in a 
non-religious system; he therefore more easily fits into a 
religious system of education and is more ready to accept 
the guidance of superiors. This is a vital necessity in the 
Catholic system, which is based upon a definite religious 



Teachers in the Catholic School System 29 

belief and is permeated through and through with a defi- 
nite ethical teaching. 

Fifthly, the religious teacher exerts an unusual influ- 
ence on his pupils. He embodies in his life and conduct the 
principles and ideals he professes and inculcates. Per- 
sonal influence in an inspiring environment is a most effec- 
tive element of the educational process. The high character 
of this personal influence is the specific contribution of the 
religious teacher in the Catholic school. 

In a word, the religious teacher is not only a good 
teacher, but he is a good teacher because he is a religious. 

8. Q. Is there a need for more religious teachers? 

A. It is one of the crying needs of American Catholic 
life. Thousands of children today are not receiving the 
benefits of a Catholic education because the Church cannot 
supply the religious teachers in numbers sufficient to meet 
the demand. 

9. Q. What can Catholics do to remedy this situation? 
A. (a) They can instruct their children in the nobility 

of the profession of the religious teacher. If any of them 
evince a desire to enter religion, parents should put no 
obstacles in their way, but encourage their holy aspirations 
towards the religious state. 

(b) They can contribute generously to the support of 
seminaries, religious novitiates and normal training schools 
in which are trained the teachers for our schools. 

(c) They can pray God daily to send "more workers into 
His vineyard." 

References 

Burns, Catholic Education, Longmans, Green & Company, N. Y., 
1917. 

Schwickerath, Jesuit Education, B. Herder Book Company, St. 
Louis, 1904. 

Brother Leo, St. John Baptist de la Salle, Kenedy, N. Y., 1921. 

Shields, Philosophy of Education, Catholic Education Press, Wash- 
ington, 1910. 



CHAPTER VI 
Training of Catholic School Teachers 

1. Q. What system of professional preparation for teach- 
ers is used in the Catholic school system? 

A. The Catholic system of training- is practically the 
same as that used for the preparation of public school 
teachers. 

2. Q. Outline the various steps in teacher-training as fol- 
lowed in Catholic training schools. 

A. After a period of preparation for the religious state, 
called a novitiate, a religious teacher takes up the formal 
work of preparing for the teaching profession. If the 
novice, as the young religious is called, has completed her 
high school education, she immediately begins two years 
of normal training work. If, however, the high school 
course has not been completed, the novice is obliged to 
take up the study of high school subjects, until she has 
satisfactorily finished them. After the completion of her 
normal training course, the young religious is sent out as 
a student-teacher. 

3. Q. What courses are presented in the Catholic normal 
training school? 

A. The following outline of courses given at the St. 
Clare School of Education, Winona, Minnesota, is typical 
of the best Catholic normal training school schedules. 

30 



Training of Catholic School Teachers 



31 



First Year 




Second Year 




Third Year 


Subject 


Semester 


Subject 


Semester 


Subject 


Semester 


Methods in 






Methods in 






History of 




Religion 


I 


II 


Religion 


I 


II 


Education 


I 


English . . . 


I 


II 


English 
Literature 


I 


II 


Economics 


I 


History and 






Child 






Sociology 


I 


Civics . . 


I 


II 


Psychol- 
ogy ... 


I 








Psychology 


I 


II 


Special 






Supplemen- 










Methods 


I 


II 


tary Re- 
quirements 


I 


General 






Mathe- 






Supplemen- 




Methods 


t 


II 


matics . . 


I 




tary Lec- 
tures .. . 


I 


School 






College 










Manage- 






Algebra 




II 






ment .. 


I 














School 






Modern 










Organiz- 






Language 


I 


II 






tion ... 




II 












Natural 












Apprentice 




Science . 


I 


II 








Teaching 


II 



4. Q. Does a religious teacher fulfill all the conditions of 
professional preparation by graduating from a normal 
training school? 

A. No ; she is obliged to attend teachers' institutes, sum- 
mer courses, and even summer school, although she is ac- 
knowledged beforehand to be a competent teacher. A few 
dioceses offer Teachers' Institutes under diocesan direction. 
Most of the large communities maintain their own summer 
schools. The smaller communities attend the extension 
courses and summer schools conducted by the different 
Catholic universities and colleges. There were 24 Catholic 
summer schools in the United States in 1921. The follow- 
ing colleges offered courses open to religious teachers : 

Canisius College, Buffalo, N. Y. ; Catholic University, 
Washington, D. C. ; Columbia College, Dubuque, Iowa ; 
Creighton University, Omaha, Nebr. ; De Paul University, 
Chicago, 111. ; Fordham University, New York, N. Y. ; St. 
John College, Brooklyn, N. Y. ; St. John University, Toledo, 



32 A Catechism of Catholic Education 

Ohio ; Little Rock College, Little Rock, Ark. ; St. Louis 
University, St. Louis, Mo. ; Loyola University, Chicago, 
III. ; Loyola University, New Orleans, La. ; Marquette Uni- 
versity, Milwaukee, Wis. ; Notre Dame University, Notre 
Dame, Ind. ; College of St. Teresa, Winona, Minn. ; Villa 
Nova College, Philadelphia, Pa.; St. Xavier College, Cin- 
cinnati, Ohio. 

5. Q. What is the attitude of Catholic educators towards 
more adequate preparation for the profession of teaching? 

A. An attitude of utmost sympathy. During the last de- 
cade there has been a notable increase in the number of 
Catholic teachers attending teacher training schools. After 
graduating from the normal training school, a great num- 
ber continue their studies in the college for the purpose of 
obtaining an academic degree. 

If this movement continues for another twenty-five years, 
there will be few, if any, Catholic teachers who have not 
had the most thorough professional preparation. 

6. Q. What is the relative status of professional prepara- 
tion of public school teachers and Catholic school teachers? 

A. According to Dr. P. P. Claxton, former United States 
Commissioner of Education, there were 600,000 public 
school teachers in the United States. "Of these," he states, 
"about 30,000 have not gone beyond the eighth grammar 
grade ; 100,000 others, not two years further, and 200,000 
more, not four years further. Half our teachers have thus 
had no particular preparation whatever." 

Although we have no exact statistics to offer, for the 
Catholic School System as a whole, it can be fairly esti- 
mated that of the 41,581 teachers in Catholic elementary 
schools, 75 per cent, are graduates of high schools or have 
had considerable high school training, at least 50 per cent, 
have had formal teacher training, and practically none is 
teaching today without a considerable amount of prepara- 



Training of Catholic School Teachers 33 

tion acquired in the class-room and by attendance at sum- 
mer courses. 

Exact figures with reference to the professional training 
of Catholic school teachers in Wisconsin are available. In 
an article, "The Certification of Teachers in Wisconsin" 
(Proceedings C. E. A., 1919), it is pointed out that: "In 
the State of Wisconsin 42.6 per cent, of teachers reported 
have training- above high school ; 37 per cent, have more or 
less college training; 19.1 per cent, have professional train- 
ing other than Catholic Community and normal ; 74.5 per 
cent, have high school training, and 25.2 per cent, hold 
certificates." 

Membership in a teaching religious community, since it 
is permanent, necessarily involves a progressive prepara- 
tion for teaching. This is impossible for the ordinary lay 
teacher who must begin her work at an early age and who 
will not continue it for more than a few years. 

7. Q. What is the relative age of teachers in the public 
school system and in the Catholic school system? 

A. The great majority of public school teachers are un- 
der twenty-one. Of the 600,000 teachers, about 150,000 
serve two years or less, and 300,000 not over four or five 
years. The average teaching life of a public school teacher 
is four and a half years. According to Dr. Strayer of Co- 
lumbia University, 140,000 teachers, or one in five, left the 
profession in 1919, and one in every ten is young and in- 
experienced. 

Catholic teachers begin teaching as young as public 
school teachers. They do not, however, leave the profes- 
sion. The Catholic School System, therefore, has no "age 
problem." There are no available statistics, but it can be 
safely asserted that 75 per cent, of the Catholic school 
teachers are above the age of twenty-five. Of this 75 per 
cent., at least 50 per cent, are above the age of thirty. 



34 A Catechism of Catholic Education 

There is no need to point out what this means in stabilizing 
education and in maintaining a high quality of instruction. 

8. Q. What is certification of teachers? 

A. It is a process which is employed by the State to 
testify to the fitness of a candidate for the teaching pro- 
fession. Different States have different requirements, 
which must be met before "certificates" or "licenses" to 
teach are given. 

9. Q. How are certificates acquired? 

A. Either by examination or by presenting credentials 
which show the necessary professional training. There is, 
however, no uniformity in the State laws with reference to 
the educational prerequisites for certification. 

10. Q. Do any States require the certification of teachers 
in private or parochial schools? 

A. A few do. Alabama, Nebraska, and South Dakota 
require certificates ; Kentucky requires that private teachers 
be approved. In many other States there is a tendency to 
require certificates of all teachers, public or private. 

11. Q. What is the Catholic attitude towards State 
certification of teachers? 

A. There is no uniformity of opinion among Catholic 
educators. A great number, and the number is constantly 
increasing, favor reasonable certification requirements. In 
New York State, in the Middle West, and in the South 
many religious teachers have applied for State certificates 
and have received them. In 1919, the Conference of 
Women's College of the C. E. A. formally approved a plan 
for the certification of Catholic teachers. 

12. Q. What preparation do the members of religious 
orders of men receive for teaching? 

A. (a) The brotherhoods follow the same system of 
teacher-training as the sisterhoods. The high school 
teachers prepare for their work by taking college degrees. 



Training of Catholic School Teachers 35 

(b) Many of the members of religious orders who are 
priests take, after ordination, university degrees in prepara- 
tion for the career of professor. They attend either uni- 
versities conducted by their own order or the Catholic Uni- 
versity of America. 

References 

Burns, Catholic Education, Longmans, Green & Company, N. Y., 
1917. 

Sargent, American Private Schools, Boston, 1921. 

Schwickerath, Jesuit Education, B. Herder Book Co., St. Louis, 
1904. 

"Certification of Teachers — A Symposium," Proceedings C. E. A., 
1919. 

State Lazvs and Regulations Relative to Certification of Teachers, 
Bureau of Education, N. C. W. C, Washington, 1921. 



CHAPTER VII 
Curriculum of the Catholic School 

1. Q. What is a school curriculum? 

A. It is a fixed course of studies. 

Each distinct type of school has its own special curric- 
ulum. We speak, therefore, of the curriculum of the ele- 
mentary school, of the high school, of the college. 

2. Q. Is there a uniform Catholic parish school curric- 
ulum? 

A. No ; as in the different State systems of education, so 
in the Catholic system, there are found many divergences 
in the matter of curriculum. In the main, however, a cur- 
riculum of the Catholic school of any given locality closely 
approximates the curriculum of the public schools of the 
same locality. 

The differences in methods and curricula in the different 
dioceses are not so wide as to cause educational disorder. 
All religious communities and, particularly the progressive 
ones, agree on the basic principles of method and curric- 
ulum. 

3. Q. What is, then, the main difference in the public 
school curriculum and in that of the Catholic school? 

A. The main difference is in the matter of religious in- 
struction. Every Catholic school teaches religion for a 
definite period of time each day. Besides this formal in- 
struction, religion is made the basis of all other instruc- 
tion with which it is correlated and of which it forms the 
ground-work. 

4. Q. Give examples of typical public and Catholic school 
elementary curricula. 

A. The following time schedules of a parish school and a 
public school show the similarities and differences that 
exist : 

36 



Curriculum of the Catholic School 



37 



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Curriculum of the Catholic School 



39 



DIOCESE OF PITTSBURGH TIME SCHEDULE 
1919-1920. 

1500 Minutes Per Week. 



Minutes Per Week 

Grades 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 

Religion 250 250 250 250 200 200 150 150 

Spoken and Written Eng- 
lish 230 230 230 230 250 250 270 270 

Vocal Music 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 60 

Drawing 100 100 100 90 90 90 90 90 

Physiology and Hygiene.. 50 50 50 40 40 40 40 40 

Geography 75 100 125 150 150 100 

Elementary Science 50 50 50 30 30 30 30 40 

Arithmetic 200 200 200 275 250 200 140 200 

Algebra 60 60 

History 30 90 120 150 150 

Civics 20 20 20 20 40 

Reading and Literature... 420 420 345 235 205 200 200 200 

Recess 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 



ARCHDIOCESE OF BOSTON APPROXIMATE TIME 
SCHEDULE. 

Aggregate time in minutes per week, to be given in the different 
subjects of the curriculum. 



Minutes Per Week 
Grades 12 3 4 5 6 7 1 
Opening and Closing Exer- 
cises 60 60 60 60 60 60 60 60 

Religion 150 150 150 180 180 180 180 180 

Reading and Literature ... 540 480 400 200 180 180 150 140 
Spoken and Written Eng- 
lish 230 200 200 300 300 250 270 250 

Penmanship 80 80 80 100 100 90 90 90 

Arithmetic 100 210 210 210 230 220 230 230 

History 50 50 120 120 150 

Geography 80 130 130 130 150 150 

Music 60 60 60 60 60 60 60 60 

Drawing 100 80 80 80 80 80 60 60 

Physiology and Hygiene . . 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 
Physical Exercises and Re- 
cess 150 150 150 100 100 100 100 100 

Totals 1500 1500 1500 1500 1500 1500 1500 1500 

Approximate Home Study 

per week 150 225 300 500 500 



40 A Catechism of Catholic Education 

5. Q. Is the curriculum now in use in the elementary 
schools of the United States satisfactory? 

A. Not altogether; many objections are urged against 
it. The general belief seems to be that it needs "human- 
izing," so that it will more adequately prepare children for 
their duties as workers and as citizens. 

The curriculum of the Catholic elementary school is 
showing the influence of these criticisms and is, like the 
public school curriculum, gradually being changed to meet 
the new conditions of American life. 

6. Give an example of typical public and Catholic high 
school curricula. 



UNITS OF STUDY OFFERED IN CERTAIN 
HIGH SCHOOLS. 



North West Philadelphia 

Central Catholic H. S. 

Subjects Association* For Bous 

Religion 2 

English 4 4 

Latin 4 4 

Greek 1 

Mathematics 3 4 

History 3 2 

Commercial Subjects \ x / 2 7 

Physics 1 1 

Chemistry . . . . ..'.-... 1 1 

Modern Languages . 2 3 

Manual Training 1 

Mechanical Drawing V/ 2 

Botany, Biology or Physiology.... l / 2 l / 3 
Physical Geography or Natural 

Science Y* Yi 



NOTE — Each unit represents 1 recitation period per day for a school 
year of from 36 to 40 weeks, or approximately 180 periods. 

*The figures for the North Central Association represent the result 
of a summary of reports from 869 schools (U. S. Bureau of Education, 
Bulletin No. 6, 1915). 



Curriculum of the Catholic School 41 
public high schools of washington, d. c. 

Periods Per Week Minutes Per Week 

Subject Year— I u m IV I II III IV 

English 5 5 5 5 225 225 225 225 

Latin 5 5 5 5 225 225 225 225 

Mathematics 5 5 5 5 225 225 225 225 

History . 5 5 5 5 225 225 225 225 

Physical Geography 5 225 

Bookkeeping 5 10 225 450 

German 5 5 5 5 225 225 225 225 

French 5 5 5 5 225 225 225 225 

Spanish 5 5 5 225 225 225 

Biology 3 3 135 135 

Typewriting 5 5 5 225 225 225 

Chemistry 5 5 225 225 

Greek 5 5 5 225 225 225 

Physics 5 5 225 225 

Mechanical Drawing 3 3 4 3 135 135 180 135 

Shorthand 5 5 225 225 

Civics and Commercial Law 5 5 225 225 
Commercial Geography and 

Economics 5 225 '■■ 

NOTE — Pupils carry from 22 to 25 periods per week; each period 
being 45 minutes in length. 

WEST PHILADELPHIA CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL FOR BOYS. 

Periods Per Week Minutes Per Week* 

Subject Year— I n m IV I II III IV 

Religion 3 3 3 2 135 135 135 90 

English 5 5 5 5 225 225-225-225 

Latin 5 5 5 5 225 225 225 225 

Mathematics 5 5 5 5 225 225 225 225 

Ancient History 4 180 

Modern History 3 135 

American History 3 135 

Physical Geography 3 135 

Bookkeeping 4 2 3 180 90 135 

Spanish 5 5 5 225 225 225 

Physiology 3 135 

Typewriting 4 3 3 180 135 135 

Chemistry 5 225 

Greek 5 225 

Physics 5 225 

Mechanical Drawing 4 4 180 180 

Shorthand '5 4 225 180 

Penmanship 11 45 45 

Civics & Comm. Law 2 2 90 90 

Comm. Geog. & Economics 2 2 90 90 

NOTES — Pupils carry 30 periods per week, with Religion, English, 
and at least two years of Latin, Mathematics and Spanish required. 

*On 45 minute period basis; probable that actual period is somewhat 
lets than this. 



42 



A Catechism of Catholic Education 



PHILADELPHIA CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOLS. 

From Report of Parish Schools, 1920-1921. 

CATHOLIC GIRLS* HIGH SCHOOL. 

General Course — 1350 Minutes Per Week. 



First Year 

*Min. Per. 


Second Year 

*Min. Per. 


Religion 180 4 

English 225 5 

Mathematics .. .180 4 

Science 135 3 

Bookkeeping ..135 3 

Latin 135 3 

History 180 4 

Drawing 45 1 

Music 45 1 

Penmanship ... 90 1 


Religion 135 3 

English 225 5 

Mathematics ...180 4 

Science 90 2 

Latin 180 4 

French or 

Spanish 135 3 

Typing 90 2 

Stenography ...135 3 

Drawing 45 1 

Music 45 1 

Gymnasium .... 45 1 
Penmanship ... 45 1 



Third Year 

*Min. Per. 


Fourth Year 

•Min. Per. 


Religion 90 2 

English 225 5 

Mathematics .. .180 4 

Chemistry 180 4 

History 180 4 

Latin 180 4 

French or 

Spanish 180 4 

Drawing 45 1 

Music 45 1 

Gymnasium ... 45 1 


Religion 90 2 

English 225 5 

Mathematics ...135 3 

Physics 180 4 

History and 

Civics 135 3 

Latin 180 4 

French or 

Spanish 180 4 

Drawing 45 1 

Gymnasium ... 45 1 

Typing 90 2 

Music 45 1 



*Min. — Minutes per week. Per. — Periods per week. 



Curriculum of the Catholic School 



43 



WEST PHILDADELPHIA CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL 
FOR BOYS. 

Classical Course 1350 Minutes Per Week. 



First Year 

•Min. Per. 


Second Year 

*Min. Per. 


Religion 135 3 

English 225 5 

Latin 225 5 

Ancient Hist.. ..180 4 
Mathematics .. .225 5 
Physic. Geog...l35 3 
Bookkeeping . . 180 4 


Religion 135 3 

English 225 5 

Latin .225 5 

Spanish 225 5 

Mathematics ...225 5 
Physiology ... .135 3 
Typewriting ...180 4 



Third Year 

*Min. Per. 


Fourth Year 

*Min. Per. 


Religion 135 3 

English 225 5 

Latin 225 5 

Spanish 225 5 

Mod. History.. 135 3 
Mathematics .. .180 4 
Chemistry 225 5 


Religion ........ 90 2 

English 225 5 

Latin 225 5 

Greek 225 5 

Spanish 225 5 

Amer. Hist. . . .135 3 
Physics 135 3 



'Min. — Minutes per week. Per. — Periods per week. 



7. Q. Compare the courses offered by two typical col- 
leges — one Catholic and the other non-Catholic. 

A. The following tables show the curricula offered by 
St. Xavier's College, Cincinnati, and Amherst College, Am- 
herst, Massachusetts : 



44 A Catechism of Catholic Education 

COMPARISON OF COLLEGE CREDITS 

Courses for A.B. degree at Amherst College, Amherst, Mass., 
and St. Xavier's College, Cincinnati, Ohio, with semester hour 
credits. A semester hour is defined as a 50-minute lecture, reci- 
tation, class exercise or two-hour laboratory period per week, 
per semester. 

Amherst St. Xavier 

Subjects Required College College 

Religion 8 

English 6 12 

Latin or Greek 12 16 

Modern Language 12 16 

Science 12 8 

Mathematics 8 6 

History or Philosophy , . 6 

History 6 

Philosophy 16 

Public Speaking 2 

Total required subjects . 58 88 

Total units required for degree 124 128 

Units of required subjects 58 88 

Units required by majors required 36 

Balance, free electives 30 40 

NOTE — Majors are subjects pursued for 6 semester courses (at Am- 
herst College) pursued either consecutively or during junior and senior 
years. Majors may be chosen from group of required or elective sub- 
jects, provided courses fulfill requirements. 

Amherst St. Xavier 

Subjects Elective Offered College College 

Art yes 

Astronomy yes yes 

Biblical Literature yes 

Biology yes yes 

Chemistry yes yes 

Economics yes yes 

Education yes 

Geology yes yes 

Greek yes yes 

History yes yes 

Latin yes yes 

Mathematics yes yes 

Modern Languages yes yes 

Philosophy — yes yes 

Physics yes yes 

Political Science yes yes 

Music ,. yes 

Sociology yes 



Curriculum of the Catholic School 45 

COMPARISON OF COLLEGE CREDITS BY 
COLLEGE YEARS. 

Courses for A. B. degree at Amherst College, Amherst, Mass., 
and St. Xavier's College, Cincinnati, Ohio, with semester hour 
credits in required and elective studies for each collegiate year. 
A semester hour is denned as a 50 minute lecture, recitation, 
class exercise or two-hour laboratory period per week, per 
semester. 

FRESHMAN YEAR. 



Subjects Amherst St. Xavier 

Religion 2 

Latin 6 8 

English 6 6 

Science 8 

Mathematics 8 

Greek or Mathematics 6 

Public Speaking 1 2 

Electives 12 

Total 33 32 



SOPHOMORE YEAR. 

Religion 2 

Latin 6 8 

English 6 

Science 6 

History 6 

History or Greek 6 

Modern Language 6 8 

Public Speaking 1 2 

Electives 6 

— • , 

Total 31 32 



JUNIOR YEAR. 



Religion 2 

Logic 4 

Psychology 6 

Modern Language 8 

Major and Minor Electives 12 

♦Required Majors 12 

Free Electives 18 

Total 30 32 



46 A Catechism of Catholic Education 

SENIOR YEAR. 

Subjects Amherst St. Xavier 

Religion 2 

Ethics 3 

Metaphysics 3 

Major and Minor Electives 24 

♦Required Majors 12 

Free Electives 18 



Total 


30 


32 








Grand Total 


124 


128 



'Required Majors are so called because the course of study at 
Amherst College must be so arranged that it will Include two majors, 
both of which must be completed in the Senior year. A major subject 
at Amherst College consists of six semester courses in the same subject 
pursued during six consecutive semesters or during the Junior and 
Senior years. 

8. Q. What general conclusions may be deduced from 
the above comparisons? 

A. In the first place, the curricula of the different types 
of Catholic schools are practically the same as those offered 
by the more progressive public schools and non-Catholic 
colleges. 

Secondly, while religion holds the first place in the Cath- 
olic plan, it is by no means the only subject considered in 
the curriculum. In the Parish Schools of the Diocese 
of Pittsburgh 200 minutes are given weekly to the study of 
religion.; in the Archdiocese of Boston the time varies from 
150 minutes to 180 minutes. A consideration of time 
schedules demonstrates the falsity of the charge that a dis- 
proportionate amount of time is given to the teaching of 
religion. We acknowledge, however, that the spirit of reli- 
gion permeates all the work done in the Catholic class- 
room. Literature, history, geography are interpreted and 
understood in the light of religious faith. The child's reli- 
gious inheritance is accorded first place, and it serves to 
give life and color to the appreciation of all the schoolroom 
activities. 



Curriculum of the Catholic School 47 

The Catholic elementary school curriculum is more con- 
servative than the public school curriculum, insisting on 
the elements of knowledge and carrying through the train- 
ing in these subjects up to and including the eighth grade. 
Catholic schools have been slow to adopt the tendency of 
present day public education to introduce industrial and 
vocational subjects into the curriculum after the sixth 
grade. This policy is not the result of lack of funds so 
much as a belief that the "old" curriculum is the best, all 
things considered. 

There has been little or no experimentation, so to say, 
with the Catholic school curriculum. Educational fads and 
fancies have found but small sympathy with Catholic edu- 
cational authorities, with the result that there has been 
practically no disturbance in the Catholic school curriculum 
during the last quarter of a century. 

The curriculum of the Catholic high school or college 
manifests the same general policy of Catholic education; 
namely, to insist on fundamentals. The basic studies — 
language, mathematics, science, history — are emphasized in 
all Catholic colleges and high schools. Electivism is re- 
duced to a minimum. The retention of Greek, although in 
most cases an elective, is a clear indication of this adher- 
ence to the traditional conception of what the curriculum 
should be. 

References 

Dunney, The Parish School, Macmillan, N. Y., 1921. 
Burns, Catholic Education, Longmans, Green & Company, N. Y., 
1921. 
MacEachen, Teaching of Religion, Macmillan, N. Y., 1921. 



CHAPTER VIII 
Reasons for the Existence of Catholic Schools 

1. Q. For what reasons has the Catholic Church estab- 
lished a separate system of schools? 

A. For the following reasons : 

Because the Catholic Church is the divinely appointed 
custodian of the whole body of revealed religious truth and 
is charged with the duty of teaching it to all men and to all 
nations. "Going, therefore, teach all nations." To do this 
adequately, a separate system of schools in our country is 
necessary. 

Because the child is a moral agent, and his education 
must therefore be moral in the sense that it must recog- 
nize the fact that the child is endowed with an immortal 
soul and is answerable to God for all his actions. 

Because will-training is looked upon by the Church as 
no less important in the educative process than physical or 
intellectual training. 

Because religious knowledge is itself intrinsically valu- 
able in the process of education. 

Because religious training is the best training for a 
citizen. 

Because the Church has, by positive law, made the estab- 
lishment of schools a matter of religious policy. 

2. Q. Does not the public school system accept the neces- 
sity of moral training? 

A. Theoretically it does, but it does not and cannot give 
the best moral training, which must be Christian. The 
public school can train children at most in the natural vir- 

48 



Reasons for Existence 49 

tues, and even in this it is not successful. It cannot appeal 
to the highest motives, which are spiritual and religious. 
Catholic education, which is based on Christian principle, 
besides inculcating supernatural virtues, the development 
of which every Christian must look upon as fundamental, 
gives as well the most efficient training in all the virtues 
which make upright, honorable men and women. 

3. Q. Explain why moral education is a reason and a 
justification for the existence of Catholic schools. 

A. In the words of the Bishops' Pastoral : "Education 
is a co-operation by human agencies with the Creator for 
the attainment of His purpose in regard to the individual 
who is to be educated, and in regard to the social order of 
which he is a member. Neither self-realization alone nor 
social service alone is the end of education, but rather these 
two in accordance with God's design, which gives to each 
of them its proportionate value. Hence it follows that 
education is essentially and inevitably a moral activity, in 
the sense that it undertakes to satisfy certain claims 
through the fulfillment of certain obligations." 

4. Q. Why is the training of the will looked upon as so 
important by Catholic educators? 

A. Because will makes character, and character is more 
important than mind. In fact, a trained mind without a 
trained will means a mind without moral training, a mind 
that is without defence against evil impulses or evil 
solicitations. 

The Pastoral Letter says : "An education that quickens 
the intelligence and enriches the mind with knowledge, but 
fails to develop the will and direct it to the practice of vir- 
tue, may produce scholars, but it cannot produce good men. 
The exclusion of moral training from the educative process 
is more dangerous in proportion to the thoroughness with 
which the intellectual powers are developed, because it 



50 A Catechism of Catholic Education 

gives the impression that morality is of little importance, 
and thus sends the pupil into life with a false idea which is 
not easily corrected." 

5. Q. Why is Catholic religious knowledge essential for 
the proper training of the mind? 

A. Because religious knowledge is the noblest, the high- 
est, and the most important knowledge which the human 
mind can acquire. 

Because religious knowledge, as taught by Catholic 
teachers, is a reasonable and reasoned belief, and a thor- 
oughly logical body of doctrine on the highest object of 
human thought. 

Because the study of the Catholic religion introduces the 
pupil to the great historical Church, the mother of all mod- 
ern civilized nations. 

Because the study of the Catholic religion develops the 
emotional and esthetic powers of man and directs them 
aright. 

Because an education without religion starves the intel- 
lect, the heart, and the esthetic faculties. 

6. Q. Why does religious education prepare one for a 
full and complete citizenship? 

A. Citizenship does not consist merely in the intellectual 
recognition of the rights of a government to rule and of 
one's duties as a citizen to obey. Good citizenship is 
founded on the will to obey. It, therefore, demands, be- 
sides knowledge, a sense of responsibility, respect for au- 
thority, and recognition of the rights of our neighbor, all 
of which flow naturally from a religious education. By 
combining into a whole the intellectual, moral, and reli- 
gious elements in education, the Catholic system is the sur- 
est and best medium for the training of loyal, upright, and 
intelligent citizens. 



Reasons for Existence 51 

7. Q. Besides formal religious and moral training, what 
other things characterize the Catholic school? 

A. One of the most prominent characteristics of the 
Catholic school is its religious atmosphere. The majority 
of the teachers are members of religious communities, and 
are known and recognized as such by the children. Their 
manner and ideals of life are religious. Their garb is 
religious. 

The class-room of the Catholic school is decorated with 
religious pictures and symbols, thus elevating the tone of 
the school and helping the children to concentrate on the 
great purposes underlying Catholic life. 

The school is situated next to or in close proximity to 
the church, emphasizing by this fact the close connection 
which exists between them. The pastor, by his constant 
watchfulness over the children and frequent visits to the 
school, exerts a most powerful influence for good. 

In a word, the whole atmosphere of the Catholic school 
is religious. It is, therefore, an unexcelled medium for 
instruction in the truths of faith and for the development 
of character in each child who has the privilege of attend- 
ing it. 

8. Q. Can the Sunday School or the religious vacation 
school supply all the religious knowledge or moral training 
necessary for citizenship? 

A. Both the Sunday School and the religious vacation 
school are mere makeshifts in the process of educating 
children religiously. Every educator, and especially every 
clergyman, appreciates this today. 

Thousands of children do not and cannot be made to at- 
tend Sunday School. Those who do, are apt to view reli- 
gion as a subject out of all relation to everyday life. They 
will likely look upon it as a Sunday affair, not closely re- 
lated to their week-day experiences. But if religion is to 
be vital, it should be correlated, both with life and the 



52 A Catechism of Catholic Education 

week-day school. It must be taught, and it must be prac- 
ticed, every day in the week, not on Sunday only. 

George Wharton Pepper in A Voice From the Crowd 
(page 100), writes: "It is my earnest desire to express 
hearty approval of Sunday Schools and to record my ad- 
miration for much of their work. At the same time, how- 
ever, I wish to register my conviction that they cannot be 
a final solution of the problem of Christian education. The 
Sunday School is, in the last analysis, an agency which at- 
tempts on one day in seven to repair the damage systemati- 
cally done to the Christian theory of life during the other 
six. There should not be in a Christian community two co- 
existing educational systems, one developed upon the the- 
ory that life and the universe are complete without God, 
and the other upon the theory that both life and the uni- 
verse are merely the sphere of God's self-revelation." 

A writer in the Bulletin of the Presbyterian Board of 
Publications and Sunday School Work, 1920, says: "The 
Daily Vacation Bible School cannot fill all the gap. It 
can only fill the gap in vacation time. It leaves the school 
year with the burden of religious education carried by the 
Sunday School — a Sunday School meeting one hour a 
week. The Religious Education Division of the Inter- 
Church World Movement reports that the 1,600,000 Jewish 
children in the United States receive an average of 250 
hours' religious education annually. The 8,000,000 Cath- 
olic children receive 200 hours of religious education an- 
nually. But the Protestant children receive an average of 
only 26 hours of religious education annually. What we 
supremely value we take pains to pass on to our children. 
Do the Jews prize their religion so much more highly than 
Protestants? Do the Catholics realize the value of their 
religious heritage so much more than the Protestants? 
Here is an appalling failure of Protestantism, a failure that 
threatens its life." 



Reasons for Existence 53 

9. Q. Is the lack of adequate moral training a grave de- 
fect in the American educational system? 

A. Yes ; it is estimated that less than one-half of the 
53,000,000 children of the United States have any reli- 
gious instruction whatsoever. 

10. Q. Is this view with reference to the necessity of reli- 
gious education peculiar to Catholics? 

A. No ; the Pastoral Letter says : "There is reason to 
believe that this conviction is shared by a considerable 
number of our fellow-citizens who are not of the Catholic 
faith. They realize that the omission of religious instruc- 
tion is a defect in education and also a detriment to 
religion." 

11. Q. Give some statements from non-Catholic sources 
which would bear out this assertion of the Pastoral Letter. 

A. George Washington says, in his Farewell Address: 
"Of all dispositions and habits which lead to political pros- 
perity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. 
. . . Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined 
education on minds of peculiar structure/ reason and expe- 
rience both forbid us to expect that national morality can 
prevail in exclusion of religious principle." 

Edmund Burke : "True religion is the foundation of so- 
ciety. When that is once shaken by contempt, the whole 
fabric cannot be stable or lasting." 

George Bernard Shaw, the English author (Christian 
Science Monitor, January 14, 1921) : "If you will have 
people legislating without any religious foundation, you 
will get the sort of thing we had from 1914-1920. The 
only remedy for war is conscience, and- you will not have 
that until you have religion carefully taught and incul- 
cated." 

Daniel Webster: "Knowledge does not comprise all 
that is contained in the large term 'education.' The feel- 
ings are to be disciplined ; the passions are to be restrained ; 



54 A Catechism of Catholic Education 

true and worthy motives are to be instilled, and pure moral- 
ity inculcated under all circumstances. All this is com- 
prised in education." 

Former Vice-President Marshall in a speech at Quincy, 
111. (Western Catholic, June 11, 1920) : "Never in the his- 
tory of the world has there been a time like the present, 
when honest men so honestly confessed that government 
does not hang upon constitutions and leagues of nations, 
but depends upon the gospel of Christ for its salvation. 
The real evil of the Church today is that it has turned over 
too many of its functions to the State." 

Hon. Arthur Balfour to the National Society in London 
(St. Paul Bulletin, October 23, 1920) : "The division be- 
tween religious and secular training is fundamentally er- 
roneous. It implies a dualism of object, a divided object, 
which no thinking man, whatever his views are, can really 
approve. If religious training is a good thing, do not at- 
tempt to divorce it from the general training of the mind. 
Do not put it into a separate compartment, as it were, to 
be dealt with on entirely different principles and for en- 
tirely different purposes. The training of the young peo- 
ple of the country is and must be an organic whole. You 
cannot cut it into separate compartments. A school is not 
and ought not to be a place merely for filling to the brim 
some unfortunate child with what is called a secular 
learning." 

Marion L. Burton, President of Michigan University, to 
the students of the University of Minnesota: "If religion 
is to be sovereign, it means that you must cultivate it. The 
religious problem is different from the scientific problem ; 
it is only by practice of the spiritual point of view that the 
appreciation of the highest living is achieved. Though we 
need criticism and friendship in our life as students, there 
is nothing that we need more than religion — the friendship 
of God." 



Reasons for Existence 55 

Robert Ellis Thompson in The Divine Order of Huma&t 
Society, Philadelphia, 1891 (page 171) : "I think it open 
to question whether church schools would not be a better 
system. In taking this ground, I am not influenced by any 
view of the State which would unfit it for educating the 
children of the country in any subject which it is fitting 
that they should learn. The State is competent to teach 
what the Church ought to teach. But the Church, through 
its clergy, can bring to bear an authority in education of a 
highly ethical kind, which it is not easy for laymen to exert. 
It can supplement or replace the parental authority more 
readily than a force of lay teachers. And it is less likely 
than they to be swayed by the intellectual fashions of the 
time and the place, less likely to accept as its divinity the 
spirit of the age, because committed to a preference for 
what Jean Paul calls 'the spirit of all the ages/ ,: 

Dr. S. Parkes Cadman at Central Y. M. C. A., Brooklyn, 
December 10, 1920: "Religious education is the largest 
task that faces the world. Culture alone cannot save man- 
kind. If it could, Athens today would be the centre of 
civilization. There can be no foundation of democracy 
except upon the fear and love of God, which is the begin- 
ning and end of all wisdom." 

Dr. Nicholas Murray Butler, in an address given at the 
Good Shepherd Church (Episcopal), Augusta, Ga., and re- 
ported in the Augusta Chronicle: "A new element has taken 
its place in the world. We are face to face with a teaching 
that holds Christianity to be not only an illusion and a 
superstition, but a fraud invented to gain control over men. 
This you will read in every tract of the Socialists, in every 
publication of the Bolshevists. 

The virtues of charity, humility, service, are held by 
them to be worthy only of the attention of children, and 
the world must get along without them ; from life must be 



56 A Catechism of Catholic Education 

excluded everything that partakes of religious belief and 
organization. 

One would say that such a plan could not succeed at this 
late date. Anything is possible today. The human mind 
was never more credulous than it is now. Never were peo- 
ple so easily moved. 

While we are comforting ourselves that, although there 
may be a storm, the structure that has been built on such a 
foundation, and founded so securely, cannot be shaken, we 
forget that the protection is not by faith alone, but by 
men who are to be leaders as well. 

We overlook the fact that instead of being an incidental, 
education is an essential part of civilization and Christian- 
ity. So fundamental it is that it goes back to the time 
when the father instructed the boy in how to hunt and 
fish, and make clothes, and when the mother taught her 
daughter how to take care of the place called home, and 
how to cook." 

National Council of Education, February 28, 1921, at 
Atlantic City, adopted this resolution : "In view of the de- 
pendence of democracy on religion and the attacks to 
which all churches and all democratic governments are 
alike being subjected by radicals and radical nations, it is 
the duty of all churches, irrespective of divergences of 
creed, to unite in an effort to make religious education 
more universal and efficient ; to emphasize the democratic 
element in religious instruction; to correlate religious in- 
struction and all elements in public school education help- 
ful to religion; it is the duty of public school authorities 
to emphasize all non-religious elements in instruction, 
which tend to make religious instruction more intelligent 
and efficient, and to organize some systematic form of moral 
instruction in every public school, and it is the duty of 
churches and public schools alike to make earnest effort to 
insure a more general reverence for Divinity and respect 



Reasons for Existence 57 

for all things religious, including respect for churches other 
than one's own, and for everything connected with their 
form of worship." 

George Wharton Pepper in A Voice From the Crowd, 
Yale University Press, 1915 (page 124) : "The Roman 
Catholic Church is the religious group which has perceived 
most clearly the dangers of a secularized education. Not 
content with protest and lamentation, these brethren of 
ours have undertaken protective measures for themselves 
and their children. As is well known, they have estab- 
lished a graded school system of their own throughout the 
country. I have heard it estimated that in these schools 
they are giving instruction to about 1,300,000 children. In 
the meantime, they are paying to the several States their 
full share of the taxes for the maintenance of public schools. 
In other words, the Roman Catholic community is simulta- 
neously supporting two systems of public education. I 
know next to nothing about their financial resources, but 
it is safe to assume that before long the time will come 
when such a burden can no longer be carried. When that 
time arrives, the question will be whether their insistence 
upon popular religious education will be given up or 
whether a determined political effort will be made to re- 
form our public school system. It requires little prophetic 
vision to foresee that it is the latter alternative that will be 
adopted." 

Editor of the St. Louis Globe-Democrat, March, 1920: 
"The Pastoral Letter of the Archbishops and Bishops of 
the Catholic Church might have been signed by every man 
professing faith in the Christian religion in all its variants. 
It is the foundation, the only foundation, of a social order 
fit to endure. Education without religion ; science without 
religion ; culture without religion, serve but to lead man- 
kind into competition, confusion, and strife. The recent 
Great War was what ought to be the final and complete 



58 A Catechism of Catholic Education 

warning to the world of what must result from national 
ambition and policies not founded upon and directed by 
the principles of religion, and especially the religion which 
has given the Golden Rule as the chief guide for the acts 
of men." 

Mr. Asquith: "I admit as a practical man that denomi- 
national schools are an indispensable part of our educa- 
tional system. You cannot get rid of them because you 
cannot find any practical substitute for them." 

Editor of the New York Times, March, 1910: "The 
movement of the Roman Catholics to secure a system of 
education which shall not ignore religion is a movement in 
the right direction. Their self-sacrificing effort in main- 
taining their parochial schools for this purpose ought to 
cause us Protestants to blush, when it is compared with our 
own indifference in this matter. The religious training of 
Protestant children is left almost entirely to the Sunday 
School, where the great bulk of the teachers are so in- 
efficient and indifferent that they exert no moral influence 
over their charges. The bitterness which has existed be- 
tween Protestants and the Romanists has become so much 
a matter of the past that it ought to be possible to agree 
upon some plan whereby our youth can receive some kind 
of religious training in the public schools. Surely every 
Christian will rejoice to have such religion given, so that 
our children will not grow up wholly irreligious and thus 
become a menace to the well-being of society." 

Roger Babson, the great statistician, recently sent the 
following letter to 16,000 executives as a part of the regu- 
lar service of his organization : "The need of the hour is 
not more factories or more materials, not more railroads 
or steamships, not more armies or more navies, but rather 
more education based on the plain teachings of Jesus. The 
prosperity of our country depends on the motives and pur- 
poses of the people. These motives and purposes are di- 



Reasons for Existence 59 

rected in the right course only through religion. Legisla- 
tion, bounties, or force are of no avail in determining man's 
attitude toward life. Harmony at home and peace with 
the world will only be determined in the same way. 

Religion, like everything else of value, must be taught. 
It is possible to get more religion in industry and business 
only through the development of Christian education and 
leadership. With the forces of evil backed by men and 
money, systematically organized to destroy, we must 
back with men and money all campaigns for Christian 
education. 

We are willing to give our property and even our lives 
when our country calls in time of war. Yet the call of 
Christian education is today of even greater importance 
than was ever the call of the army or the navy. I say this 
because we may at any time see our best institutions at- 
tacked from within. 

I am not offering Christian education as a protector of 
property because nearly all the great progressive and lib- 
eral movements of history have been born in the hearts of 
Christian educators. I do, however, insist that the safety 
of our sons and daughters, as they go out on the streets 
this very night, is due to the influence of preachers rather 
than to the influence of policemen and law makers. Yes, 
the safety of our nation, including all groups, depends on 
Christian education. Furthermore, at no time in our his- 
tory has it been more greatly needed. 

We insure our houses and factories, our automobiles and 
our businesses through mutual and stock companies, but 
the same amount of money invested in Christian education 
would give far greater results. Besides, Christian educa- 
tion can insure what no corporation can insure — namely, 
prosperity. 

As the great life insurance companies are spending huge 
sums on doctors, scientific investigations and district 



60 A Catechism of Catholic Education 

nurses to improve the health of the nation, so we business 
men should spend huge sums to develop those fundamental 
religious qualities of integrity, faith and service, which 
make for true prosperity. I repeat, the need of the hour 
is — not more factories or materials, not more railroads or 
steamships, not more armies or navies — but rather more 
Christian education. This is not the time to reduce in- 
vestments in schools and colleges at home, or in similar 
work in China, Japan, Russia or South America. This is 
the time of all times to increase such subscriptions." 

12. Q. Is then religion necessary to national progress? 

A. Yes ; without religion a nation cannot go forward. 
Wealth may accumulate, but mankind will decay. This is 
the incontrovertible verdict of all history. Religion must 
be the very backbone of a nation, and religion can be 
learned only in the schools. As the school, so the nation. 

13. Q. What is, beyond question, the most important 
part of education? 

A. To train children to put in practice the moral and 
religious principles which they learn at school. 

14. Q. Do not Catholic schools exaggerate the impor- 
tance of religion by giving a disproportionate amount of 
time to^its study? 

A. They do not. A relatively small amount of time is 
given weekly to the formal study of religion, never more 
than one-sixth of the fifteen hundred minutes allowed to all 
subjects. Religion is, however, always accorded first place 
and is never divorced either from the curriculum or from 
life. Besides the formal study of religion, religious prac- 
tices and habits are taught and inculcated. "To seek first 
the kingdom of God" is the basis of all Catholic pedagogy 
as well as of all Catholic life. 

Present day conditions are such that the school must 
insist more rather than less on religion. The decline in 



/ 



Reasons for Existence 61 

morality, both individual and social, which is character- 
istic of post-war times, imposes upon the Catholic school 
the burden of teaching this generation a standard of ethics 
not generally accepted by the irreligious or non-religious 
masses amongst which they must live. In doing this, our 
schools are not only preserving the faith of our children 
and raising up devout followers of Christ, which is the 
highest aim of education, but they are at the same time 
educating upright citizens for the Republic. 

The need of adequate moral training for all our Amer- 
ican children is more than self-evident. Not only Catholic, 
but non-Catholic children as well, must receive a definite 
moral education if our democratic institutions are to en- 
dure. The nation need fear little from outside aggression. 
It cannot, however, stand if its own citizens manifest dis- 
respect for law and order because of ignorance of what is 
moral and immoral. This is true of every kind of govern- 
ment. It is doubly true in a democracy where the people 
rule. In a democracy, high moral standards are manifestly 
impossible if the people are ignorant of what true morality 
is and have not been trained from childhood in its prin- 
ciples and practices. 

15. Q. Cite the laws of the Church with reference to the 
necessity of religious education and the establishment of 
Catholic schools. 

A. From the syllabus of Pius IX, December 8, 1864, this 
proposition may be cited amongst those which are con- 
demned : "48. Catholics may approve of a system of edu- 
cation which is separated from the Catholic faith and the 
power of the Church and which concerns itself with the 
knowledge of merely natural things and only, or at least 
primarily, with the ends of social life." 

From the Instruction addressed to the American Bishops, 
November 24, 1875 : "There is nothing so necessary as 
that Catholics should have schools of their own, and these 



\ 



62 A Catechism of Catholic Education 

in no wise inferior to the public schools. No pains, there- 
fore, are to be spared to found Catholic schools where they 
are wanting, to enlarge and equip and arrange them more 
and more perfectly that they may be put on an equality 
with the public schools, both in their teaching and man- 
agements." 

From the First Plenary Council of Baltimore, May 9, 
1853 : "We exhort the bishops that they take steps to 
establish a parish school in connection with every church 
of their diocese." 

From the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore, Novem- 
ber 9, 1884: "We not only exhort Catholic parents with 
paternal affection, but we command them with all the 
authority in our power to procure a truly Catholic educa- 
tion for their dear children and to send them to the parish 
or other truly Catholic schools. 

All Catholic parents are bound to send their children 
to the parish school unless it is evident that a sufficient 
training in religion is given either in their own home or 
in other Catholic schools." 

The new Code of Canon Law ordains (Canon 1113): 
"Parents are bound by a most grave obligation to provide 
to the best of their ability for the religious and moral, as 
well as for the physical and civil, education of their chil- 
dren and for their temporal well-being." 

(Canon 1372) "From childhood, all the faithful must 
be so educated that not only are they taught nothing con- 
trary to faith and morals, but that religious and moral 
training takes the chief place." 

(Canon 1375) "The Church has the right to establish 
schools of every grade, not only elementary schools, but 
high schools and colleges." 

(Canon 1379) "It is desirable that a Catholic university 
be founded wherever the public universities are not im- 
bued with Catholic teaching and feeling." 



Reasons for Existence 63 

Letter of Benedict XV, addressed to the American Epis- 
copate, August 10, 1919: "Nor is the Catholic education 
of children and youth a matter of less serious import, since 
it is the solid and secure foundation on which rests the ful- 
ness of civil order, faith and morality. You are indeed 
well aware, Venerable Brethren, that the Church of God 
never failed on the one hand to encourage most earnestly 
Catholic education, and on the other vigorously to defend 
and protect it against all attacks ; were other proof of this 
wanting, the very activities of the Old World enemies of 
Christianity would furnish conclusive evidence. Lest the 
Church should keep intact the faith in the hearts of little 
children, lest her own schools should compete successfully 
with public anti-religious schools, her adversaries declare 
that to them alone belongs the right of teaching, and 
trample under foot and violate the native rights of par- 
ents regarding education ; while vaunting unlimited lib- 
erty, falsely so-called, they diminish, withhold, and in 
every way hamper the liberty of religious and Catholic 
parents as regards the education of their children. We 
are well aware that your freedom from these disadvan- 
tages has enabled you to establish and support with ad- 
mirable generosity and zeal your Catholic schools, nor do 
We pay lesser meed of praise to the superiors and mem- 
bers of the Religious Communities of men and women 
who under your direction have spared neither expense 
nor labor in developing throughout the United States the 
prosperity and efficiency of their schools. But, as you 
will realize, We must not so far trust to present prosperity 
as to neglect provision for the time to come since the 
weal of Church and State depends entirely on the good 
condition and discipline of the schools, and the Christians 
of the future will be those and those only whom you will 
have taught and trained." 



64 A Catechism of Catholic Education 

16. Q. What conclusions may we draw from these laws? 

A. (a) The Church, in order to be true to her divine 
mission, must establish schools. Her commission "to 
teach all nations" authorizes the Church to teach the 
truths of salvation to every person, whether adult or child, 
rich or poor, private citizen or public official. 

.(b) If the Church has the duty of establishing- schools, 
Catholics have the correlative duty of sending their chil- 
dren to these schools. 

(c) Catholics, where Catholic schools exist, should not 
send their children to schools where the teaching of re- 
ligion is abandoned or the teaching of morality excluded 
from the curriculum. 

(d) If religious education is to continue, the Catholics 
of America must not swerve in their allegiance to the prin- 
ciples laid down by the Church. 

(e) The future both of the Church and of our Country 
depends upon our allegiance to the religious ideal in edu- 
cation. 

References 

Pastoral Letter of the American Hierarchy, National Catholic Wel- 
fare Council, Washington, D. C, 1919. 

Burns, Principles, Origin, and Establishment of the Catholic School 
System in the United States, Benziger, N. Y., 1912. 

Blakely, Some Documents on the School Question, America Press, 
N. Y., 1921. 



CHAPTER IX 
Attitude of Catholics Toward the Public School 

1. Q. Are Catholics "opposed" to public education? 

A. Catholics are not "opposed" to public education. 
They recognize the need of public education. They also 
acknowledge that the State has rights in the education 
of its citizens. They pay their proportionate share of 
taxes for the upkeep of the public school system. They 
cannot, however, regard as ideal a system of education 
which minimizes moral training and excludes religion. 
They cannot accept the present system of public education 
as suitable for their children because it does not give to 
Catholic children the moral and religious training which 
they must have. They feel free, as every citizen does, to 
criticize and if need be to condemn, any institution which 
is the creation of the State and is supported by taxation 
upon all classes of people. To say, therefore, that Catho- 
lics are "opposed" to public education is either to mis- 
understand the position of the Church on education or to 
view her attitude with a prejudiced mind. 

2. Q. If Catholics are not "opposed" to the public 
schools, why do they not send their children to them? 

A. (a) As a matter of fact, a great number of Catholic 
children, because of the lack of Catholic schools, do attend 
the public school. Catholic parents, however, believe that 
the religious education of their children must be safe- 
guarded at any sacrifice. From the Catholic point of view, 
attendance at Catholic schools, wherever possible, is the 
only ideal situation because in some countries the State 

65 



66 A Catechism of Catholic Education 

schools are anti-religious and in other countries they are 
non-religious, as they are in the United States. 

Since education and religion are so inextricably inter- 
woven in any complete system of education, for the State 
to insist on Catholic attendance at a public school would 
be an invasion of the fundamental rights of conscience of 
those who believe that their children must be educated 
in religion as well as in other subjects. By law the State 
must refuse to provide for the religious education of our 
children. Therefore, because of this provision of the Con- 
stitution of the United States, "Every Catholic child in 
a Catholic School" can be our only safe policy. 

(b) The fact that thousands of Catholic men and 
women teach in the public schools would be evidence 
enough of the fact that we do not "oppose" public educa- 
tion. 

(c) Non-attendance at the public school is an imme- 
morial right which we exercise as American citizens — 
namely, the right to educate our children as our conscience 
dictates. A number of religious bodies — for example, the 
Lutherans, Episcopalians and Jews — maintain parish 
schools. There are a great number of private schools 
founded and conducted by individuals. Thousands of 
of American non-Catholic children attend private or de- 
nominational schools in every State in the Union. Prac- 
tically every Protestant religious organization provides 
for the higher education of its membership outside of State 
institutions. Of the 119 colleges east of the Mississippi 
109 are under religious management ; 300 of the 400 stand- 
ard colleges in the United States are Christian colleges ; 
more than three-fourths of the college students in the 
United States are in religious colleges. 

As long as these schools and colleges obey the laws of 
the State with reference to education and maintain the 
standards of efficiency required of the modern school, the 



Attitude Towards the Public Schools 67 

organizations which conduct the same are only exercising 
a right which morally, as well as legally and historically, 
belongs to them as American citizens. To say, therefore, 
that an organization is "opposed" to the public school be- 
cause it maintains its own schools is to indict every re- 
ligious body in the United States as un-American. 

3. Q. Do Catholics then recognize the right of the State 
to educated 

A. Yes. The Pastoral Letter says : "In accordance 
with this purpose (of the Constitution) the State has a 
right to insist that its citizens shall be educated. It should 
encourage among the people such a love of learning that 
they will take the initiative and, without constraint, pro- 
vide for the education of their* children. Should they, 
through negligence or lack of means, fail to do so, the 
State has the right to establish schools and take other 
legitimate means to safeguard its vital interests against 
the dangers which result from ignorance. " 

4. Q. Who, according to Catholic teaching has the pri- 
mary duty towards the education of the child? 

A. The parent has the primary duty in the education 
of the child. This right is fundamental and cannot be 
delegated to any one else. "Parenthood," says the Pas- 
toral, "because it means co-operation with God's design for 
the perpetuation of human kind, involves a responsibility 
and therefore implies a corresponding right to prepare 
for complete living those whom the parent brings into the 
world." 

5. Q. Does the school relieve the parent of this re- 
sponsibility? 

A. The school does not relieve the parent of any re- 
sponsibility. "The school cannot deprive the parent of 
his right nor absolve him from his duty in the matter 
of the education of his children." — (Pastoral Letter.) 



68 A Catechism of Catholic Education 

6. Q. Does the State accept this philosophy of educa- 
tion which we hold? 

A. Practically it does. It has wisely never hampered 
private initiative in education. The results have been 
worthy of the liberty accorded to each citizen, to follow 
the dictates of his conscience in the matter of religion 
and of education. 

Religious education has always been and is today very 
strong in the United States. It has produced the highest 
type of citizenship. It has at all times intensified loyalty. 
It has always accepted the educational requirements which 
the State has demanded of its own schools. The State, 
moreover, has nothing to fear from the religious school. 
American statesmen and legislators recognize this fact. 
As in the past, so now, they look askance at the efforts 
constantly being made by bigots to do away with the re- 
ligious school or to injure its work in one way or another. 

7. Q. Is this liberty of education a good thing for 
America? 

A. Liberty of education is one of the foundation stones 
of our democratic government. We have always opposed 
State monopoly of every kind. State monopoly in educa- 
tion would be the greatest calamity that could happen to 
the American people. 

8. What would be some of the results of State monopoly 
in education? 

A. State monopoly in education would entail the follow- 
ing results : 

(a) The end of all educational freedom. 

(b) The establishment of a bureaucratic control of our 
schools. 

(c) The death of private initiative in education. 

(d) The introduction of politics into the school system. 

(e) Increased expenditures of public moneys with little 
or no increased efficiency in education as a result. 



Attitude Towards the Public Schools 69 

(f) Multiplication of jobs and office holders in the 
school system — a direct menace to political freedom. 

(g) Arbitrary educational rules, policies and laws issued 
by a central bureau. 

(h) Interference with the rights of parents and of chil- 
dren in matters of conscience. 

(i) The school would be used as a means of propagat- 
ing political theories acceptable to those in power. Parti- 
sanship in politics would control education. 

In a word, the school would be "Sovietized." 

9. Q. Give the official statements of the Church with ref- 
erence to attendance of Catholic children at public schools. 

A. From instructions issued by Pope Pius IX, July 14, 
1864 : "Let all be convinced it is for their greatest interest, 
not only as individuals and members of families, but also 
as citizens of that most flourishing American nation, which 
affords such grounds of hope to the Church, that religion 
and piety should not be expelled from their schools. 

"On the other hand, the Sacred Congregation is not igno- 
rant that sometimes circumstances are such that Catholic 
parents may conscientiously commit their children to the 
public schools. But this they cannot do unless for so act- 
ing they have a sufficient reason, and whether in any par- 
ticular case such sufficient reason does not exist must be 
left to the conscience and judgment of the Bishops. And, 
according to what is herein detailed, this reason will gen- 
erally be judged to exist when either there is no Catholic 
school in the place or the school at hand is but little fitted 
to give the children an education suited to their condition 
and circumstance. 

"But all parents who neglect to give their children this 
necessary training and education, or who permit their chil- 
dren to frequent schools in which the ruin of souls cannot 
be avoided, or, finally, who, having in their locality a good 



70 A Catechism of Catholic Education 

Catholic school, properly appointed to teach their chil- 
dren, or having the opportunity of educating- their off- 
spring in another place nevertheless send them to public 
schools, without sufficient reason and without the neces- 
sary precautions by which the approximate danger may 
be made remote — these, as is evident from Catholic moral 
teaching, if they are contumacious, cannot be absolved in 
the Sacrament of Penance. ,, 

From the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore, 1884: 
"Therefore, we not only exhort Catholic parents with 
paternal affection, but we command them with all the 
authority in our power to procure a truly Catholic educa- 
tion for their dear children, given them by God, reborn to 
Christ in Baptism and destined for Heaven; and, further, 
to defend and secure them from the dangers of secular 
education throughout the whole time of infancy and child- 
hood ; and, finally, to send them to the parish or other 
truly Catholic school, unless, indeed, the Bishop of the 
diocese judge that in a particular case other provision may 
be permitted . . . that all Catholic parents are bound to 
send their children to the parish school, unless it is evident 
that a sufficient training in religion is given either in their 
own homes or in other Catholic schools or when, because 
of a sufficient reason, approved by the Bishop, parents 
have been allowed to send their children, with all due pre- 
cautions and safeguards, to other schools. What consti- 
tutes a Catholic school is left to the decision of the 
Bishop." 

From the New Code of Canon Law; Canon 1113. "Par- 
ents are bound by a most grave obligation to provide to 
the best of their ability for the religious and moral as well 
as for the physical and civil education of their children, 
and for their temporal well-being." 

Canon 1372. "From childhood all the Faithful must be 
so educated that not only are they taught nothing con- 



Attitude Towards the Public Schools 71 

trary to faith or morals, but that religious and moral train- 
ing takes the chief place." 

Canon 1373. "In every elementary school religious in- 
struction, adapted to the age of the children, must be 
given." 

Canon 1374. "Catholic children must not attend non- 
Catholic, neutral, or mixed schools, that is, such as are also 
open to non-Catholics. It is for the Bishop of the place 
alone to decide, according to the instructions of the Apostolic 
See, in what circumstances and with what precautions attend- 
ance at such schools may be tolerated, without danger of per- 
version to the pupils." 

10. Q. In what spirit are Catholic schools maintained in 
the United States? 

A. "Our Catholic schools are not established and main- 
tained with any idea of holding our children apart from 
the general body and spirit of American citizenship. They 
are simply the concrete form in which we exercise our 
rights as free citizens in conformity with the dictates of 
conscience. Their very existence is a great moral fact in 
American life. For, while they aim, openly and avowedly, 
to preserve our Catholic faith, they offer to all our people 
an example of the use of freedom for the advancement of 
morality and religion." — (Pastoral Letter.) 

References 

Cardinal O'Connell, "The Reasonable Limits of State Activity," 
Proceedings C. E. A., 1919. 

Pastoral Letter of the American Hierarchy, N. C. W. C, Washing- 
ton, D. C, 1919. 

Blakely, Some Documents on the School Question, America Press, 
N. Y., 192L 



CHAPTER X 
Americanism of the Catholic School 

1. Q. Are Catholic schools American schools? 

A. They are American in the true meaning of the term. 

To contrast the private school with the public school 
by calling one American and the other un-American is to 
reveal both ignorance of the history of education in the 
United States and of the purposes and ideals which have 
always actuated the private, and especially the Catholic, 
schools of the United States. 

Neither is the private school un-American because it is 
an "immigrant school," as the author of A Stake in the 
Land writes. As a matter of fact, more foreign-born 
children, as well as the children of foreign-born parents, 
attend the public than the Catholic schools. If, however, 
it is un-American to educate foreign children in the Amer- 
ican way and according to the best American standards, 
then the Catholic school would be un-American. 

2. Q. Why is the Catholic school American? 

A. The Catholic school is American for the following 
reasons : 

(a) Its history is American. Catholic schools antedate 
the American Revolution. They have grown pace by pace 
with the growth of the country. Catholic schools are not 
a foreign importation. 

(b) Its curriculum is American. The Catholic school 



Americanism of the Catholic School 73 

follows the accepted American curriculum from the ele- 
mentary school to the university. 

(c) Its teachers are Americans. The nation has no bet- 
ter or truer citizens than the religious men and women 
who teach in the Catholic schools. 

(d) Its students are Americans or in the process of 
Americanization. 

(e) Its language is the English language. 

(f) It is not socialistic, anarchistic or bolshevistic. 

(g) Its ideals are American. The Catholic school be- 
lieves in America, teaches love and respect for America, 
and has proven its loyalty in every crisis in the nation's 
history. 

(h) Its teaching of religion and of practical morality 
is American, true to the traditions of the Founders of the 
Republic. 

3. Q. How does the history of the Catholic school prove 
that it is American? 

A. The first American schools were religious schools. 
The same can be said of our great American colleges. For 
over two hundred years after the settlement of the Eng- 
lish colonies all the schools were church schools, and many 
of these were Catholic. The same is true of the Spanish 
and French settlements, where all the schools were Catho- 
lic. The tax-supported public school, as a system of State 
education, dates from 1850, and has, therefore, no claim 
to being considered the only true American system of edu- 
cation. Since the very beginnings of the Republic the 
private school, and especially the church-endowed school, 
has carried the burden of educating great numbers of 
American children. It is today continuing that work in 
the same spirit in which it was begun by the early colo- 
nists and settlers as well as by the Fathers of the Amer- 
ican Republic. 



74 A Catechism of Catholic Education 

4. Q. How is the curriculum of the Catholic school 
proved American? 

A. The curriculum of the Catholic school in the secular 
branches is practically the same as that of the public 
school. A glance at Chapter VII will bear out this state- 
ment. 

5. Q. How do the teachers in the Catholic school sys- 
tem prove its Americanism? 

A. Practically every male teacher in our Catholic 
schools is an American citizen. The great majority of 
women teachers, most of them members of religious com- 
munities, are either native-born Americans or, since the 
passage of the Suffrage amendment, have taken out their 
citizenship papers. The general policy of Catholic educa- 
tion has always been to insist on American citizenship as 
a prerequisite to teaching in our schools. 

6. Q. How do the students in the Catholic school prove 
the Americanism of the same? 

A. In many ways. They prove it by their ideals and 
their life. They are always loyal and true American citi- 
zens who love and respect their country. No socialists or 
bolshevists are bred in Catholic schools. With reference 
to this point, the Editor of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle well 
said : "Long controversies have been waged in the past 
over church schools, but there is at least this to be said 
for them, that none of the young socialists and incipient 
revolutionists who are now seen as a danger received 
their training in such schools. The root of this revolu- 
tionary teaching is agnosticism or a thinly veiled atheism. 
Faith in God and reverence for God make for the respect 
and observance of moral and social law, and the need for 
religious training is seen clearly at a time when men and 
women go about seeking to overturn the foundation of 
the moral and social order." 



Americanism of the Catholic School 75 

The religious school has produced some of the greatest 
Americans. Washington, Webster, McKinley and Roose- 
velt were the products of religious schools. Of the Presi- 
dents of the United States, sixteen were educated in re- 
ligious colleges. Of the Justices of the Supreme Court, 
seven of the eight college men were educated in religious 
colleges. Amongst the great Americans of our own days, 
students of the Catholic school from the elementary to the 
university, none were more American than the late Ed- 
ward Douglas White and Cardinal Gibbons. 

In the Great War the Catholic school engaged in every 
form of national aid and endeavor. It also sent its prod- 
uct, the parish school boy, into the service in numbers out 
of all proportion to the strict demands of loyalty. 

7. Q. How does the language of the Catholic school 
prove it to be American? 

A. The language of the Catholic school is English. In 
some Catholic schools the teaching of a foreign language 
is allowed. This arrangement has distinct educational 
value. It brings to the child the culture of the race of his 
forebears and the advantages of a working knowledge of 
more than one tongue. In all Catholic schools the basic 
language is English. The Catholic educational policy is 
to insist that all subjects be taught in English, not except- 
ing religion. It is necessary, however, to permit the teach- 
ing of religion both in English and in a foreign language 
in classes of the children of lately arrived immigrants who 
cannot understand English or whose parents insist that 
the Catechism at least be taught them in their mother 
tongue. 

8. Q. In the great majority of Catholic schools is not 
the instruction given wholly in a foreign language? 

A. No. The Catholic schools in which the instruction is 
given wholly in a foreign language are very few and are 



76 A Catechism of Catholic Education 

becoming fewer every year. The policy of the Church in 
this matter has not been to force the issue, but slowly to 
await the opportune time when each foreign group is pre- 
pared for the acceptance of the English language. In this 
way it has not offended the racial sensibilities of the im- 
migrant and has succeeded in transforming the foreign 
language school, within a relatively short period, into a 
school where the English language is the sole medium of 
instruction. Results have proved the wisdom of this slow 
and patient method of attacking a very difficult problem. 

9. Q. How does the teaching of religion prove the 
Americanism of our schools? 

A. Religion has always been recognized, since the days 
of George Washington, as the foundation upon which 
good government and good citizenship rest. Religion not 
only teaches belief in God ; it likewise inculcates respect 
for law and order. "Render to Caesar the things that are 
Caesar's and to God the things that are God's" has always 
been the motto of the religious school. Socialism, com- 
munism or bolshevism has never found a place in Catholic 
education. "The best offset to bolshevism in Amer- 
ica," says the Christian Herald, "is sound religious edu- 
cation such as will promote the growth of spiritual mo- 
tives in the hearts of all who are accessible to good 
training." 

10. Q. What have the Catholics done to bring about a 
better understanding and appreciation of our American 
democracy? 

A. During the reconstruction period immediately fol- 
lowing the war the National Catholic War Council under- 
took as one of its most important activities a national civic 
education campaign. This campaign has been carried on 
and intensified under the National Catholic Welfare 
Council. 



Americanism of the Catholic School 77 

An excellent series of Americanization pamphlets has 
been utilized in this better citizenship work. The Council 
has published and distributed more than 1,000,000 copies 
of the Fundamentals of Citizenship, a short text-book ex- 
plaining the a b c's of American democracy. A catechetical 
adaptation of the Fimdametitals of Citizenship has been 
prepared in the Civics Catechism on the Rights and Duties 
of American Citizens. This Catechism has been published 
in several foreign languages, the English text appearing 
in parallel column form with the foreign translation, 
thereby permitting the stranger in America to read in his 
own language of the privileges, opportunities and rights 
of American citizenship, the process of naturalization and 
the means of acquiring citizenship, and to obtain knowl- 
edge of the English language at the same time. 

Realizing that in the elementary school system of the 
United States the subject of Civics has been almost uni- 
versally neglected and that only 10 per cent of the ele- 
mentary school graduates eventually reach high school 
where Civics is formally taught, the N. C. W. C. has 
made as one of the principal objects of its Americaniza- 
tion work the introduction of the Civics Catechism into the 
6,551 Catholic elementary schools of the country. In the 
higher grades of practically all of these schools a simple 
course in patriotism and civics, emphasizing the element- 
ary facts of government, is now being given. 

Community Americanization programs have been or- 
ganized by the N. C. W. C. in many cities. More than a 
hundred Catholic papers and periodicals recently co-oper- 
ated in publishing serially the chapters of the Civics Cate- 
chism. Many secular papers and foreign language publi- 
cations have co-operated in this work. 

Other Catholic organizations have either co-operated in 
or initiated citizenship campaigns similar to the one con- 
ducted by the N. C. W. C. 



78 A Catechism of Catholic Education 

11. Q. How has the Americanization work of the N. 
C. W. C. been received in circles outside the Church? 

A. From many sources has come approval of the Coun- 
cil's organized effort to promote better citizenship, both in 
the schools and elsewhere. Typical of the praise which 
the Council's efforts have evoked is the following editorial 
comment from the Post Intelligencer, Seattle, Washington 
(Feb. 14, 1921): 

"It is reassuring to other religionists and provocative 
of public confidence to be- assured that the Americaniza- 
tion work of the Welfare Council is free from denomina- 
tionalism of any kind ; that the Council is planning in the 
most constructive way that it can devise to make Amer- 
icans, actual and potential, realize that good citizenship is 
a matter of great concern to them not only on election 
day, but on every other day. . . . But beyond the immedi- 
ate work of the Welfare Council is the assurance that the 
effective machinery of the Roman Catholic Church is 
exerting its great influence in these fretful days of recon- 
struction in the direction of better Americanism and bet- 
ter citizenship. The Church itself is international, but its 
hierarchy and its membership in America are American. 
This speaks in many ways, but in none more plainly and 
forcibly than in the work of the Catholic Welfare Council." 

Father de Ville, of Gary, Indiana, has stated the Catholic 
position very well (N. C. W. C. Press Service) : "Many 
methods thus far used have not succeeded in winning our 
immigrants but in alienating them. With the young men 
and women there is a natural tendency to learn English 
because the young immigrant realizes he cannot rise in 
the business world otherwise. But to strive to force the 
older immigrants to learn and use English, to cut them off 
from their own language, is to create a pitiful type of 
mediocrity that is fatal to that national progress which 
depends upon the blending of the genius, the musical and 



Americanism of the Catholic School 79 

literary traditions and propensities of these people with 
our own." 

President- Emeritus Eliot of Harvard has pointed out 
"as one danger of 'Americanization' the possibility that 
efforts will be made to reduce the population to something 
standardized which will be known as the 'American type.' 
There is no necessity for uniformity at least to this ex- 
tent." — (Sargent, Private Schools.) 

12. Q. What further means are taken by Catholic 
schools to promote true Americanism? 

A. 1. They teach love of country. Love of country, like 
love of God, is developed in our children by daily instruc- 
tion and training. 

2. They give all due time to the study of American his- 
tory with the idea of developing in our children admira- 
tion and love for the country we call our own. 

3. They devote definite periods weekly to the study of 
civics and the duties and responsibilities of citizenship. 

4. They make the English language the medium of in- 
struction and teach our children to love and respect that 
language and its literature. 

5. They observe all the national patriotic holidays with 
appropriate exercises. 

6. They possess and fly an American flag on appro- 
priate days. 

7 . They welcome the foreign-born or the sons of the 
foreign-born with a sympathy and love which is truly 
American, as well as Catholic. 

8. Some Catholic schools are centers of Americaniza- 
tion work, where groups of foreign-born meet and are edu- 
cated along American lines. 

13. Q. What is the motto of every Catholic school? 

A. The motto of every Catholic school is "For God and 

Country." 



80 A Catechism of Catholic Education 

References 

McClancy, "Americanization and the Catholic Elementary Schools," 
Proceedings C. E. A., 1919. 

Coler, Socialism in the Schools, Benziger, N. Y., 1911. 

Coler, Two and Two Make Four, Beattys & Company, N. Y., 1914. 

Williams, American Catholics in the War, Macmillan, 1921. 

Civics Catechism on the Rights and Duties of American Citizens, 
N. C. W. C, Washington, D. C, 1919. 

Lapp, The Catholic Citizen, Macmillan, N. Y., 1921. 



CHAPTER XI 

Cost of Catholic Education 

1. 0- What does it cost yearly to educate a child in the 
public elementary school? 

A. In 1920 the States paid $950,000,000 for the educa- 
tion of 23,250,000 children in elementary schools, or at the 
rate of approximately $40 a child. The annual expendi- 
tures for public education in elementary schools in the 
United States from 1870 to 1918 are shown in the follow- 
ing- diagram: 

DIAGRAM SHOWING ANNUAL EXPENDITURES FOR 
PUBLIC EDUCATION, 1870-1918. 
Burgess, Trends of School Costs. 
MILLIONS 
OF DOLLARS 



700 

600 

500 
Ann 










































*HJU 

300 

200 

100 











































1870 1880 



1890 
81 



1900 I9IO 



1920 



82 



A Catechism of Catholic Education 



According to the Federal Bureau of Education, in 1918 
the expenditure was $763,678,000 for 20,549,000 children. 
Of this sum $421,084,254, or 52.2 per cent, went for teach- 
ers' salaries. This money was distributed as follows: 



DIAGRAM SHOWING DISTRIBUTION OF EXPENSE 
OF PUBLIC SCHOOL EDUCATION. 

Burgess, Trends of School Costs. 



Interest and 
Fixed Charges 
3% 

Text Books 
and Supplies 
3% 



Maintenance 
3% 



Others 
3% 




Cost of Catholic Education 83 

2. Q. What would be the corresponding annual cost to 
the States for the education of all the children now in 
Catholic elementary schools? 

A. On the basis of $40 per capita, it would amount, ex- 
clusive of buildings and equipment, to $71,826,920. This 
is much more than double what it was estimated to have 
been in 1910— namely, $30,511,010. To the above must 
be added the interest at 5 per cent on the value of the 
ground, buildings and equipment of Catholic elementary 
schools, estimated at $143,653,840, which is $7,182,692. 
The total annual saving to the States, therefore, would be 
$79,009,612. 

A more accurate total might be compiled by comparing 
the cost of public education in the State of Ohio, a state 
which reflects conditions of both the public schools and 
the Catholic schools throughout the nation better, than a 
total based on the cost of public education throughout the 
United States. 

According to the Department of Public Instruction of 
the State of Ohio, for teaching alone it cost $29.56 per 
pupil in the elementary schools of that State. In 1920 
there were 122,964 children in the Catholic elementary 
schools of Ohio. It would, therefore, cost the State of 
Ohio $3,634,815 additional merely for the tuition of their 
children. If we, therefore, conservatively assume that $30 
is a fairly accurate per capita cost for each parish school 
pupil throughout the United States, the Catholic ele- 
mentary schools save the nation, in salaries of teachers 
alone, at least $53,870,190 annually. To this, however, 
must be added the interest at 5 per cent on the value of 
the ground, buildings and equipment of Catholic schools, 
which is $7,182,692. 

The total saving to the nation yearly, therefore, would 



84 A Catechism of Catholic Education 

be, on the very conservative computation of $30 per capita, 
approximately $61,000,000. 

3. Q. What would it cost the State to replace, with new 
buildings and equipment, Catholic elementary schools? 

A. Only a general estimate can be given. The latest 
government figures fix the unit classroom cost of new 
buildings at $12,800. This figure undoubtedly applies to 
the highest type of urban school. If we, for the basis of 
an estimate, use one-half of this unit price, or $6,400, as 
the average unit classroom cost of urban and rural schools, 
and allow for forty pupils per classroom, it would cost the 
State, exclusive of school sites, approximately $288,000,000 
to provide the Catholic elementary school population with 
new buildings and equipment. Inasmuch, however, as the 
Catholic school population is estimated to be 80 per cent 
urban, this total would be insufficient to replace our 
schools. 

4. Do Catholics actually expend $61,000,000 annually 
for elementary education? 

A. No. Exact statistics as to the average cost of main- 
tenance per pupil in Catholic elementary schools are not 
available. It is perhaps one-half and certainly one-third 
the cost of educating a child in the public elementary 
schools. 

5. Q. What is the value of Catholic elementary school 
buildings and equipment in the United States? 

A. No accurate figures are available either as to the 
actual number of buildings or as to their value. Accord- 
ing to Dr. Burns, President of Notre Dame University, in 
1912 the ''average value of elementary school houses and 
sites, together with library and all other property, is $71.99 
per pupil registered." In 1920 the sum is undoubtedly 
larger because there has been a very great increase in the 
cost of materials and wages since 1913. 



Cost of Catholic Education 85 

Eighty dollars per pupil would be a very conservative 
estimate in 1920 of the average value of Catholic school 
buildings, sites and equipment. 

At $80 per pupil the value would be $143,653,840. 

6. Q. What salaries are paid teachers in Catholic ele- 
mentary schools? 

A. No exact records are available of the amount of sal- 
ary paid Catholic elementary school teachers. It is less 
than $635, the average of the minimum yearly salary paid 
to public school teachers. If the Catholic elementary 
school teachers were paid $635, it would cost the nation 
$26,403,935 in added salaries for teachers alone. 

Catholic elementary school teachers, however, receive 
much less than what is paid public school teachers. 

7. Q. How much does high school education cost? 

A. In the public high schools of Ohio it cost $49.30 per 
capita to educate a pupil. If this average is accepted for 
the whole country, the Catholic high school system saves 
the nation approximately $6,401,013 yearly, exclusive of 
the cost of buildings, equipment, etc. 

It has been estimated that in 1917 it cost $14 yearly per 
girl and $18 yearly per boy to educate Catholic high school 
pupils. These figures are a most conservative estimate and 
should certainly be increased to $15 and $20 for 1920. At 
this rate, Catholics pay annually for high school education 
the sum of $2,101,080. This figure does not include 6,518 
unclassified high school students. The fact that many 
Catholic high schools, especially for girls, are boarding 
schools was not taken into consideration in arriving at the 
above estimate. 

8. Q. How much is expended yearly for the education 
of seminarians? 

A. The average annual per capita cost for the education 



86 A Catechism of Catholic Education 

of a seminarian would be approximately $300. In the 
large diocesan seminaries it approximates $550. This fig- 
ure includes board and lodging. At $300, $3,359,400 is 
expended yearly on the education of candidates for the 
priesthood. 

9. Q. How much is expended yearly for Catholic college 
education? 

A. According to recent figures of the Federal Bureau 
of Education, the estimated cost in 1918 per capita for col- 
lege students, including collegiate, preparatory and pro- 
fessional departments, was : 

Public Colleges and Universities $509.95 

Private Colleges and Universities 291.31 

and the average for public and private, $364.92. 

At $291.31 per capita, the cost of educating, exclusive 
of board and lodging, the students at Catholic colleges in 
1920 would be $9,846,895. 

No statistics are available from Catholic sources as to 
the per capita cost of Catholic college education. The 
average tuition, however, in a Catholic college for men is 
$100 yearly. At this rate, Catholics expend $2,814,500 an- 
nually. For the education of women the average rate of 
tuition, board included, is $670. At this rate, $7,391,440 
is expended yearly. In all, $10,205,940 is spent for college 
education. These figures do not include 2,927 unclassified 
college students. 

The above sum, however, does not represent more than 
50 per cent of what is actually spent, as it does not include 
interest on the cost of buildings, equipment, etc., nor does 
it include board and lodging for men students, which items 
are generally supplied in Catholic colleges. $20,000,000 
anuually more probably represents the actual sum ex- 
pended by Catholics on college education. 



Cost of Catholic Education 87 

10. Q. What is the total of money spent yearly by Catho- 
lics on Catholic education in the United States? 

A. The total annual amount is estimated to be $73,000,- 
000. This is not an exact total and probably represents 
but 75 per cent of the actual amount spent every year. 

11. Q. Is this not an unwise expenditure on the part of 
Catholics? 

A. Catholics do not estimate the value of their religion 
in dollars and cents. Since the State schools do not pro- 
vide an education conformable to Catholic standards, we 
have no alternative but to spend large sums in training 
the young according to the dictates of our conscience. 

12. Q. Do Catholics pay taxes for the support of public 
education? 

A. They do. Catholics pay their proportionate share 
for the maintenance of public education besides carrying 
the financial burden of supporting their own school sys- 
tem. However, it must be remembered that the taxes of 
Catholics would be much heavier if the cost of educating 
Catholic children were added to the tax budget 

References 

Burgess, Trends of School Costs, Russell Sage Foundation, N. Y., 
1920. 

Burns, Growth and Development of the Catholic School in the 
United States, Benziger, N. Y., 1912. 

Burns, Catholic Education, Longmans, Green & Co., N. Y., 1917. 

Statistical Survey of Education, 1917-18, Federal Bureau of Educa- 
tion, Washington, D. C, 1920. 

Stevens, How Much Does Higher Education Cost? Federal Bureau 
of Education, Washington, D. C, 1919. 



CHAPTER XII 

How You Can Help Catholic Education 

1. Q. Mention some ways in which you can be of assist- 
ance to the cause of Catholic education. 

A. You can help Catholic education by sending your 
children to Catholic schools ; by showing your apprecia- 
tion of the merits of Catholic education; by informing 
yourself of the aims and purposes of Catholic education; 
by spreading information about your schoql ; by assisting 
in its financial support. 

2. Q. How do you help Catholic education by sending 
your children to Catholic schools? 

A. Until "every child is in a Catholic school/' where 
this is possible, our educational hopes remain unfulfilled. 
If you send your children to a Catholic school, your neigh- 
bor will probably follow your example. 

3. Q. Why should you send your boy or girl to high 
school and to college? 

A. Because higher education opens to the mind the 
whole field of human thought and endeavor. 

Because higher education is necessary for the prepara- 
tion of leaders, both in civic and in Catholic life. 

Because higher education is the only sure preparation 
for a successful life. 

According to a recent compilation, of the 33,000,000 boys 
and girls who stopped their education after the eighth 
grade, 808 "became distinguished;" of the 2,000,000 who 
completed high school, 1,245 "became noted," of the 
1,000,000 college graduates, 5,763 "reached distinction." 
With an elementary school education, therefore, the 
chances for success are one in 41,250; with a high school 
education, one in 1,608 ; with a college education, one in 173. 

88 



How You Can Help Catholic Education 89 

The following charts from the Money Value of Educa- 
tion, by A. Caswell Ellis, published in 1917, represent 
in dollars and cents what is the value of a high school 
education : 

WHAT FOUR YEARS IN SCHOOL PAID 

WAGES OF TWO GROUPS OF BROOKLYN CITIZENS. 

Those Who Left Those Who Left 

School at U School at 18 

(Yearly Salary) (Yearly Salary) 

When 14 years of age $200 $.... 

When 16 years of age 250 .... 

When 18 years of age 350 500 

When 20 years of age 475 750 

When 22 years of age *. . . 575 1,000 

When 24 years of age • 600 1,150 

When 25 years of age 688 1,550 

Total Salary 11 years 5,112.50 

Total Salary 7 years $7,337.50 

The figures represent the average of actual salaries received by two 
groups of children that left school at 14 and 18 years of age, re- 
spectively, and were investigated by the Committee on Incentives of 
the Brooklyn Teachers' Association. 



SALARIES PAID UNIVERSITY GRADUATES 

THE INCOMES RECEIVED FROM THEIR OWN WORK FOR THE FIRST 

TEN YEARS AFTER LEAVING COLLEGE WERE REPORTED 

BY GRADUATES AS FOLLOWS: 

Graduates of 1st Year 2d Year 3d Year kth Year 5th Year 

Princeton ....1901 $706 $ 902 $1,199 $1,651 $2,039 

Princeton ....1906 860 1,165 1,332 1,427 2,226 

Yale 1906 740 969 1,287 1,523 1,887 

RECORDS FOR SECOND FIVE YEARS: 
Graduates of 6th Year 7th Year 8th Year 9th Year 10th Year 

Princeton ..1901 $2,408 $2,382 $2,709 $3,222 $3,804 

The figures are from "The Fifth-Year Record of the Class of 1906, 
Princeton University," pp. 245-259. Reports were from about two-thirds 
of the members of the classes. In the same way, ten years after 
graduation, the class of 1899 of Dartsmouth reports an average income 
of $2,097; the class of 1903 of Northwestern University an average of 
$1,863 for the fifth to tenth year after graduation; and the Harvard 
Law Class of 1905 reports an average of $2,616 the fifth year after 
graduating in Law. 



90 A Catechism of Catholic Education 

4. Q. Why should you send your boy or girl to a Catho- 
lic high schooland later to a Catholic college? 

A. Because the atmosphere is religious, and therefore 
wholesome. 

Because the instructors are religious, and therefore be- 
lieve what you believe. 

Because the training is superior, and therefore better 
than that given in most State or non-sectarian schools. 

Because the adolescent boy and girl need in an especial 
way the support and safeguards which religion alone gives. 

Because the companionship is clean and inspiring, and 
therefore you need fear no moral contamination for your 
children. 

Because recreation and athletics are kept within reason- 
able bounds, and therefore not likely to be a hindrance to 
the acquisition of knowledge. 

Because study is supervised, and therefore more apt to 
be productive of good results. 

5. Q. What reasons should impel you to appreciate the 
work of Catholic education? 

A. (a) Catholic education is religious. As you love 
your religion, so you should love the greatest agency 
which the Church possesses in America to spread knowl- 
edge — the Catholic school. 

(b) Catholic education is efficient. Its teachers, its 
schools and its students prove this efficiency. A study of 
the Catholic school system impresses one with its manifest 
superiority. Non-Catholic educators, statesmen, business 
men appreciate the thoroughness and excellence of Catho- 
lic education. We cannot and do not expect less of our 
Catholic people. 

(c) Catholic education is superior education. The 
Catholic school is the equal and in many cases the superior 
of any school, either public or private. Catholics should 
appreciate this fact. 



How You Can Help Catholic Education 91 

6. Q. Why should you spread information about Catho- 
lic schools? 

A. Because the Catholic school is not known as it de- 
serves to be known, even among Catholics. The statistics 
of the Catholic school system, the training of its teachers, 
the patriotic purposes of its existence, should be made 
known to all. You cannot expect appreciation of your 
schools, especially by outsiders, unless you make known in 
conversation and by writing the facts about Catholic 
schools. 

The development of Catholic education in the United 
States, particularly during the last hundred years, has been 
little short of miraculous. The mere existence of thou- 
sands of Catholic schools with an approximate attendance 
of two million, should be enough to convince any man that 
Catholicism in the United States is alive to its duties and 
conscious of its divine purposes as the greatest religious 
force in the Republic. 

Never lose an opportunity, therefore, of speaking about 
your schools or of urging on all a fair study and evalua- 
tion of the same. 

7. Q. Is there a Catholic rural problem in education? 

A. Yes. The farms of this country are being depopu- 
lated by -large migrations to the city. It is estimated that 
80 per cent of the Catholic population is urban, 20 per cent 
rural. This rural percentage is decreasing every year. 
Of Catholic school attendance, it is estimated that 90 per 
cent is urban and 10 per cent rural. Thousands of chil- 
dren, therefore, who live in the "country are not receiving 
a Catholic education. Coupled with this loss in numbers 
is the loss in leadership, both civic and religious. It is a 
well known fact that a large percentage of the noted men 
and women of America have been farm boys and girls, 
while in Europe a high percentage of religious vocations 
comes from the smaller towns and the country. 



92 A Catechism of Catholic Education 

8. Q. What can we do to help solve Catholic rural prob- 
lems in education? 

A. (a) We must, first of all, be convinced of the fact 
that there is a Catholic rural problem and that it is in the 
interest of the Church to help solve it. 

(b) Rural religious leadership must be developed and 
therural Catholic school must be considered as important 
as the city parish school. 

(c) Catholic vacation schools should be founded in those 
districts where the Catholic population is too small to main- 
tain a rural parish school. 

(d) The formation of groups of lay catechists, who 
would go to places where there is no church or school and 
regularly teach religion. 

(e) The development of a correspondence course in rural 
religious education, which should be of such a character as 
to reach every Catholic who lives on a farm. 

9. Q. Why should you assist your schools financially? 

A. Because financial assistance is a moral duty. Not 
only does the Church command you to support your 
schools, but conscience should convince you that you 
must do so. 

No Catholic should require urging to support Catholic 
education. He should do it willingly because of the neces- 
sity of Christian education, because of its admitted effi- 
ciency, because it is thoroughly American, and because of 
his loyalty to the Church. 

10. Q. Do Protestant denominations support their 
schools? 

A. In 1921, ten Protestant organizations asked for $240,- 
000,000 for their educational institutions. The Methodists 
alone sought $22,940,000. Most of this money will be de- 
voted to higher education. 



How You Can Help Catholic Education 93 

11. Q. How much money would the Catholic Church re- 
quire to make its educational institutions secure? 

A. An eminent Catholic educator has estimated that a 
trust fund of $50,000,000 would provide for the current 
needs of Catholic higher education, and another $50,000,000 
would probably be required for Catholic elementary edu- 
cation. 

12. Q. How can you assist Catholic education finan- 
cially ? 

A. In many ways : 

(a) By contributing your share to the upkeep of your 
parish school. The burden of Catholic education must be 
borne by each and every individual. 

(b) By setting aside in your will a definite sum of 
money for educational purposes. No loyal Catholic should 
make a will without making provisions for the education of 
his own children and for the support of Catholic education. 

(c) By endowing Catholic colleges and schools. All 
colleges have endowment funds ; you may be able to endow 
a professorship or even a class-room. 

(d) By providing scholarships for worthy boys and 
girls. Many scholarships in our colleges have been 
founded by individuals. In some places, groups of men 
and women have organized to give scholarships to ambi- 
tious boys and girls who desire a college education. No 
greater service, either to the Church or to our young peo- 
ple, could be performed by any community. 

(e) By assisting young men in their education for the 
holy priesthood and by helping- to build and endow 
seminaries. 

(f) By supporting the efforts now being made to train 
Catholic men and women as social workers. In this re- 
spect, the National Catholic Service School for Women de- 
serves universal support. 



94 A Catechism or Catholic Education 

(g) By supplying- our parish schools with adequate play- 
grounds and playground equipment, library facilities, and 
schoolroom necessities. 

(h) By encouraging the efforts now being- made to estab- 
lish Catholic vacation summer camps for boys and girls. 

(i) By supplying the funds with which Catholic educa- 
tion can be given to those who live in the country and can- 
not attend city parish schools. The Catholic education of 
children whose parents are farmers is one of the most seri- 
ous problems which the Church faces today. 

References 

What Women's Organizations Can Do, National Council Catholic 
Women, Washington, D. C, 1921. 

O'Hara, The Rural Problem in Its Bearings on Catholic Education, 
Catholic Educational Association, 1921. 

Ellis, The Money Value of Education, Federal Bureau of Educa- 
tion, Washington, D. C, 1917. 



LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS 



Title page 

Table showing Growth of Parish School Attendance from 1880 

to 1920 6 

Table showing Growth of Attendance at Seminaries for the Edu- 
cation of Candidates for the Priesthood from 1880 to 1920 ... 7 

National Summary of Catholic School Statistics 10 

Map showing Distribution of Catholic School Attendance by 

States. 11 

Table showing Functions of Diocesan Supervisor of Schools for 

Archdiocese of Boston 14 

Chart showing Gradations of Catholic Educational Institutions 

in the Catholic Educational System 26 

Time Schedules : 

Time Distribution by Subjects and Grades in Fifty Repre- 
sentative Cities 37 

Washington, D. C, Public Schools 38 

Diocese of Pittsburgh Time Schedule, 1919-1920 39 

Units of Study Offered in Certain High Schools 40 

Public High Schools of Washington, D. C 41 

West Philadelphia Catholic High School for Boys (General 

Course) 41 

Philadelphia Catholic High Schools 42 

West Philadelphia Catholic High School for Boys (Classical 

Course) 43 

Comparison of College Credits 44 

Comparison of College Credits by College Years 45 

Diagram showing Distribution of Expense of Public School 

Education 81 

Diagram showing Annual Expenditures for Public Education, 

1870-1918 , 82 

What Four Years in School Paid 89 

Salaries Paid University Graduates 89 

95 



INDEX 



Attendance — 

At Parish School, p. 9. 

At High School, p. 9. 

At Seminary, p. 10. 

At College, p. 10. 

At University, p. 10. 

At Religious Novitiate, p. 10. 

At Normal Training School, p. 10. 
Academies, denned, p. 21. 
Americanism of Catholic School, pp. 

72-80. 

Bishops' Pastoral, pp. 49, 53, 67, 71. 

Colleges — 

First Catholic College, p. 2. 
Organization of, p. 16. 
Administration of, p. 16. 
Junior, p. 22. 

Entrance Requirements, p. 22. 
Curriculum of, p. 22. 

Comparison Catholic and Sec- 
ular, pp. 44, 45. 
Standard — 

Definition of, p. 22. 
List of, p. 23. 

Requirements for Recognition 
as, p. 24. 
Registration (1920), p. 10. 
Number of, p. 10. 
Cost, of, pp. 85, 86. 
Catholic Educational Association, p. 

17. 
Curriculum — 

Definition of, p. 36. 

Contrast with Public School 

Curriculum, p. 36. 
Of Parish School, p. 36. 

Typical Catholic and Public 
School Curriculum, pp. 37, 
38, 39. 
Of High School — 

Typical Catholic and Public 
School Curriculum, pp. 40, 
41, 42, 43. 
Of College, pp. 44, 45. 
General Conclusions Relative to, 
pp. 46, 47. 
Cost of Catholic Education, pp. 81- 
87. 



Census, Statistics of 1920, pp. 9-11. 

Elementary Schools — 
Curriculum, p. 19. 

Typical Catholic and Public 
School Curriculum, pp. 37, 
38, 39. 
Registration (1920), p. 9. 
Number of, p. 9. 
Cost of, pp. 81-85. 

Growth of Catholic School System — 
1800-1850, p. 3. 
1850-1870, p. 4. 
1870-1920, p. 5. 
Factors of, pp. 3, 4. 

High Schools — 

Organization of, p. 15. 
Curriculum of, p. 20. 

Typical Catholic and Public 

School Curriculum, pp. 40, 

41, 42, 43. 
Junior, p. 20. 
Purposes of, p. 20. 
Accredited or Affiliated, p. 21. 
Registration (1920), p. 9. 
Number of, p. 9. 
Cost of, p. 85. 

Institutional Schools — 
Curriculum of, p. 19. 

National Catholic Welfare Council — 
Functions of N. C. W. C. Depart- 
ment of Education, p. 17. 

Principals, Duties of, p. 15. 
Public Education — 

Attitude of Catholics Toward, pp. 
65, 66. 

Right o«f State to Educate, p. 67. 
Parents — 

Duty and Responsibility Toward 
Education of Children, p. 67. 
Pre-Revolutionary Schools, p. 1. 

Number of, p. 2. 

Religious Character of, p. 2. 

General Character of, p. 2. 

Curriculum of, p. 2. 



97 



98 



Index 



Religious Education — 
Why Needed, p. 50. 
As a Preparation for Citizenship, 

pp. 50, 51. 
Non-Catholic Advocates of, pp. 

53-60. 
Time Devoted to, p. 60. 
Laws of Church Relative to, pp. 

61-63. 
Laws Relative to Compulsory At- 
tendance by Catholics, pp. 69, 
70, 71. 
Theoretical Acceptance by State, 
p. 68. 
Rural School, p. 91. 
Religious Novitiates, defined, p. 30. 

Number of, p. 10. 
Religious Brotherhoods, p. 28. 

Schools (Catholic) — 

First Catholic Academy, p. 1. 
First Classical School, p. 1. 
Plan of Organization of, p. 12. 
Administration of, p. 12. 
General Features of Organization, 

p. 16. 
Types of — 

Elementary (See Elementary). 

Parish (See Elementary). 

High (See High School). 

College (See College). 

Rural (See Rural). 

Academies (See Academies). 

Religious Novitiates (See Reli- 
gious Novitiates). 

Seminary (See Seminary). 

University (See University). 

Pre-Revolutionary (See Pre- 
Revolutionary School). 

Institutional (See Institutional 
School). 
Curriculum (See Curriculum). 



Schools- — 

Reasons for, p. 48. 

Religious Atmosphere of, p. 51. 

Spirit of, p. 71. 

Americanism of, pp. 72-80. 

Suggestions for Assistance of, pp. 
88-94. 

Number of, pp. 9, 10, 11. 
Students, Number of (1920 Cen- 
sus), pp. 9, 10. 
Superintendent, Duties of, p. 13. 
Supervisor, Duties of, p. 13. 
Seminaries — 

Curriculum of, p. 25. 

Registration (1920), p. 10. 

Number of, p. 10. 

Cost of, p. 85. 

Teachers — 

First Catholic, p. 1. 
Number of (1920 Census), p. 9. 
Classification of, p. 27. 
Training of — 

Advantages of Religious Train- 
ing, p. 28. 
Curriculum of Teacher-Training 

School, p. 30. 
Extension Training Courses, p. 

31. 
Comparison of Professional 
Preparation of Catholic and 
Public School Teachers, p. 
32. 
Age of, p. 33. 
Certification of, p. 34. 

Universities — 

Administration of, p. 16. 
Curriculum of, p. 25. 
Degrees Conferred by, p. 25. 
Number of, pp. 10, 25. 



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